Bring The Rain
by phoenixwritesSPN
Summary: What came from a death no one saw coming? A demonic war hell bent on starting the apocalypse, knowing you had part in the person you love dying, waiting through days of increasing hopelessness as everything starts to crumble around you. Will there ever be a way out? [Dean/OFC] s3 *temporary summary* (Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural.)
1. The Magnificent Seven

_Hey Mr. cage-man, let me get a fresh breath  
Cherry bomb, head strong, I could fake my own death  
Hey Mr. fate-man, shuffle me a ninth life  
I've been wrong, go long  
Throwing me a sharp right_

 _Hey Mr. safe-man, hustle me an okay_  
 _I could slide, take a dive, take it for the home team_  
 _Hey Mr. postman, slip me one more green note_  
 _I've been low, hit the floor  
Looking just to make broke_

 _It's not a picture-perfect life  
Not what I had in mind  
Let me write my own line  
…._

 _I've got this place that I've filled with empty space  
I'm trying not to face what I've done  
My hopeless opus  
I'm in this race and I'm hoping just to place  
I'm trying not to face what's become of me  
My hopeless opus _

_**Imagine Dragons – Hopeless Opus**_

* * *

After just about a week of being on the road, I realized that was one more week until Dean's time was up. I didn't know how to process any of it. The only thing I did was try to stay strong, not allowing myself to cry in front of him. I did plenty of that when I was on my own.

No matter what he wanted, it seemed as though both Sam and I were on board with giving it to him. Which is exactly what led to Sam sitting outside in the car while Dean and I stayed in the room. I felt bad for him, but the times Dean and I were left alone were the only times I could forget what was looming over our heads.

I sat on the edge of the bed, watching Dean walk over to the window, giving Sam a thumbs up.

"Okay. Let's close these, huh?" I walked over, shutting the sheer blinds. "Sam doesn't need to see anything."

"True." Dean smiled, pulling me close to him, staring down into my eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I said, forcing a smile on my face. Dean raised an eyebrow, knowing I was bullshitting.

I quickly reached up, pulling his shirt off before kissing him. Dean wrapped his arms around me, running his hands underneath my shirt, moving away for a moment to pull it off. He ran his hands up my back, unclasping my bra, sliding it off. I smiled up at him, taking his hand, pulling him over to the bed, pushing him down on it. He watched me as I unbuttoned his jeans, pulling them down before taking off my own. I crawled on top of him, straddling his hips, kissing him deeply, licking his bottom lip.

"I love you." I murmured against his lips.

"I know." Dean smirked, gently pushed me onto my back as he hovered over me. I wrapped my arm around his neck, letting out a moan as I felt him slip into me. He slowly kissed down my neck, rocking back and forth.

I was so lost in the moment that I didn't hear anything else going on. A bomb could've dropped outside and I wouldn't have had a clue.

* * *

 **IMPALA – NIGHT**

For about the millionth time since we'd left the motel, Sam let out a disgusted huff, moving around in the back of the bar, hitting his knees into the back of the seat. I knew he was completely grossed out, and I didn't really blame him. Through he knew was going on in there.

"Sam, really?" I asked, looking back at him.

"Let me see your knife."

"What for?" Dean asked.

"So I can gouge my eyes out." He muttered, leaning up on the back of the seat. I chuckled, shaking my head.

"It was a beautiful, natural act, Sam."

"Yeah, well, it's a part of you two I never wanted to see."

"Knock next time." I said.

"I did!"

"Oh."

"Hey, I appreciate you giving us a little quality time." Dean said.

"Yeah, no problem." Sam nodded, leaning back.

"Really? Well, I got to say, I was expecting a weary sigh or an eye roll, something."

"No, not at all. You deserve to have a little fun."

"Well, I am in violent agreement with you there." Dean smiled, glancing over at me. I smiled back, quickly look out the window, letting all traces of that smile fall off my face in an instant. "So, what's Bobby got?"

"Not much." Sam shrugged. "A crop failure and a cicada swarm outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Could be demonic omens-"

"Or could just be a bad crop and a bug problem"

"Yeah, but it's our only lead."

"Any freaky deaths?"

"Nothing Bobby could find. Not yet, anyway."

"It's weird, man. I mean, the night the devil's gate opened, all these weirdo storm clouds were sighted over how many cities?"

"Seventeen." I mumbled, glancing over at him.

"You'd think it would be _Apocalypse Now_ , but it's been five days and bubkis. What are the demons waiting for?"

"I don't know."

"It's driving me crazy. I tell you, if it's gonna be war, I wish it would just start already." Dean sighed. I shook my head sightly, swallowing hard as I went back to looking out the window.

"I don't know, man." Sam muttered, catching my reaction. "Be careful what you wish for."

* * *

 **NEBRASKA – DAY**

After another long drive, we finally made it to the farm Bobby had told us about. The moment I got out of the car, all I could hear were loud sounds of a bugs chirping everywhere. Dean followed behind, taking another bite out of the huge burger he insisted on having this morning.

"Hear those cicadas?" Sam asked.

"That can't be a good sign." Dean muttered around a mouthful of burger.

"No, it can't."

"So, we're eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?" Bobby asked, walking up to us from his car a few feet away.

"Well, I sold my soul. Got a year to live. I ain't sweating the cholesterol." Dean shrugged, seeing the sad look on my face before I could cover it up.

"So, Bobby, what do you think? We got a biblical plague here or what?" Sam asked.

"Well, let's find out. Looks like the swarm's ground zero." Bobby said.

Dean went over to the door, banging on it. "Candygram!"

There was no answer, only the sounds of cicadas chirping louder. I looked around, an uncomfortable feeling coming over me as we stood out in the open.

"Hold this?" Dean asked, holding his burger out to me. I nodded, taking it from him as he proceeded to pick the lock, opening the door. As soon as he did that, a horrible smell escaped, hitting us in the face.

"God, that's awful." I muttered, covering my nose with my sleeve.

"That so can't be a good sign." Dean said, entering the barn. Sam quickly trailed behind him, his gun at the ready, leaving Bobby and I to pull up the rear.

We made our way through the house, stopping at a door where the sounds of faint screaming could he heard on the other side. Dean kicked the door open and immediately the source of the smell hit us like a ton of bricks. I peered inside, seeing a TV playing in front of a small family who was sitting on the couch – appearing to have been dead for several days.

"Oh, my god." Sam muttered, looking up at Bobby. "What the hell happened here?

"I don't know."

"Check for sulfur." Dean said, looking up at the sound of a noise outside. He nodded to it, signaling that he was going to check it out. I put the burger down on the end table, following him outside.

Just as Dean stepped around the corner of the house, the butt of a shotgun flew out, knocking him to the ground. I instantly pulled up my gun, training it on the man and woman who stood there.

"Who the hell are you?" I snapped, hearing footsteps behind me.

"Isaac? Tamara?" Bobby called, walking over, placing a hand on my arm, telling me to lower my gun. If Bobby trusted them, then I guess I did, too.

"Bobby." The woman muttered. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same."

"Hey, Bobby." The man smiled.

"Hello. Bleeding here." Dean called from the ground.

"Oh, my god." I breathed, dropping to my knees next to Dean, using my shirt to wipe the blood from the small cut in his forehead. "Are you okay, baby?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Dean sighed, sitting upright. I glanced up, seeing Tamera and Isaac raising an eyebrow at Dean.

"Come on." I said, helping him to his feet, shooting a glare at the couple.

* * *

After we'd called an ambulance to come collect the family, we headed back over to Isaac and Tamera's place, hanging out there until we got the corners report, which Dean was attempting to get now.

"Jenny! That is a beautiful name." He told the girl on the phone, throwing me a wink. "That's my sister's name, actually."

"Honey? Where's the Palo Santo?" Isaac asked.

"Well, where'd you leave it?" Tamera replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, dear. That's why I'm asking."

"Palo Santo?" Sam asked.

"It's holy wood, from Peru. It's toxic to demons like holy water. Keeps the bastards nailed down while you're exorcising them." She explained, digging around in a bag.

"Wouldn't that hurt the person they're possessing?" I asked, leaning against the wall. Tamera stopped what she was doing, glancing back at me with a strange look.

"Sends it back to hell either way."

With that reply, I felt a little more uncomfortable in their presence than before, glancing back into the room to see Dean still flirting with that girl over the phone.

"Thank you, dear." Isaac muttered, taking the large, pointed stake from Tamera's hands.

"You'd lose your head if it wasn't for me."

"So, how long you two been married?" Sam asked.

"Eight years this past June." Tamera smiled proudly.

Isaac nodded. "The family that slays together..."

"You know, Dean and Tori have almost been together that long." Sam said, smiling over at me.

"Really?" Tamera asked, looking over at me.

"Yeah." I nodded, sniffling as I thought about how we'd never even get the chance to be together past eight years.

"That's sweet."

"So, how'd you get started?" Sam asked. An awkward silence fell over us as Tamera and Isaac glanced at each other, clearly not wanting to bring up that memory. "I, uh, you know...I'm sorry. It's not- that's none of my business."

"No, no. It's- it's alright."

"Well, Jenny, if you look as pretty as you sound, I'd love to have an... _appletini."_ Dean said, looking over at me, making a face when he said _appletini._ Without even realizing, I felt myself smiling. "Yeah. Call you."

"Well, do you have a hot date with Miss Appletini or not?" I grinned, walking over to him as he hung up

"No." He sighed, pretending to look disappointed. "Get this – that whole family's cause of death? Dehydration and starvation. There's no signs of restraint, no violence, no struggle. They just sat down and never got up."

"But there was a fully stocked kitchen in the next room." I said.

"What is this, a demon attack?" Sam asked.

"If it is, it's not like anything I ever saw, and I've seen plenty." Bobby shrugged.

"Well, what now?" Dean asked. "What should we do?"

"Well, _we're_ not gonna do anything." Isaac said, seeing the questioning looks on our faces. "You guys seem nice enough, but, this ain't _Scooby-Doo_ , and we don't play well with others."

"Well, I think we'd cover a lot more ground if we all worked together." Sam suggested.

"No offense, but we're not teaming with the damn fools who let the devil's gate get opened in the first place."

" _No offense_?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Isaac. Like you've never made a mistake." Tamara muttered.

"Oh yeah, yeah." He scoffed. "Locked my keys in the car, turned my laundry pink. Never brought on the end of the world, though."

"Alright. That's enough." Dean said, standing to his feet. I kept a hand on his arm, making sure he didn't do anything stupid.

"Look, there are couple hundred more demons out there now. We don't know where they are, when they'll strike. There ain't enough hunters in the world to handle something like this. You brought war down on us – on _all_ of us."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" I asked, stepping around in front of Dean.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"What are you gonna do?" Dean asked, holding a protective arm out in front of me.

"Guys, this isn't helping." Sam said quietly.

"Okay. That's quite enough for now." Tamara said, pulling Isaac out of the room.

* * *

 **STORE – DAY**

After hearing some news that a woman brutally murdered another for a pair of shoes this morning, we figured something was up and headed over to the store to check it out. Sam and I stood outside, watching a few police taking forensic evidence from the murder scene.

"So, hey, how are you feeling?" Sam asked, glancing down at me.

I looked up at him, letting out a sigh. "How do you think?"

"Shouldn't you tell Dean-"

"Tell him what, Sam?" I asked, turning to face him. "That I'm upset he's gonna leave us in a year and there's not a damn thing I can do about it?"

Sam glanced down to the ground and I pushed past him into the store, making sure there were no tears spilling down my cheeks as I made my way over to Dean, who had his hand on the shoulder of a young blonde.

"What happened outside makes you realize how fragile life really is. You got to make every second count." Dean said, looking into her blue eyes. I folded my arms behind him, clearing my throat. He glanced back at me, turning to the girl again. "Excuse me a minute, would you?"

"Sure." She nodded, leaving.

"Having fun?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. I'm comforting the bereaved. What are you doing?"

"Working. Dead body, possible demon attack – that kind of stuff."

"Babe, I'm sorry. It's just, I don't have much time left, and-" He paused, coughing theatrically. "Got to make every second count."

I watched him for a moment, swallowing hard as I tried to stomp down the frustration building up inside of me. "I can't believe you."

"Apology accepted." He grinned, coughing again.

"It's not funny, Dean." I said, folding my arms. "And I didn't apologize."

Just then, I heard the bell on the top of the door jingle, turning to see Bobby enter in his suit, his hair slicked back. Sam trailed behind him, shooting a small smile my way.

"Whoa." Dean whistled, smiling. "Looking spiffy, Bobby. What were you, a G-man?"

"Attorney for the D.A.'s office. I just spoke to the suspect."

"So, what do you think? Is she possessed or what?" Sam asked.

"Don't think so. There's none of the usual signs – no blackouts, no loss of control. Totally lucid. Just, she really wanted those shoes. Spilled a glass of holy water on her just to be sure. Nothing."

"Maybe she's just some random whack job." Dean shrugged.

"If it had been an isolated incident, maybe. But first the family, now this? I believe in a lot of things. Coincidence ain't one of them. Did you kids find anything around here?"

"Nope. Nothing." I replied.

"Well, maybe something." Dean nodded to a security camera mounted on the ceiling, looking over at me with a grin. "See? I'm working."

* * *

In the security footage, we didn't find anything that stood out too much, other than a red-haired man that walked up to the blonde woman moments before she murdered the brunette. After that, for the rest of the day we were walking around town with a picture of the man, trying to see if anyone knew him.

We'd found out that he always drinks at this one bar in town, which is where we were now waiting inside Bobby's car.

"What time is it?" Bobby asked from the backseat, yawning.

"Seven past midnight." Dean replied, glancing down at his watch. I let out a small sigh, leaning against Dean's side. I hadn't been feeling very well, and I wasn't sure if it was from nerves, or something else.

"You sure this is the right place?"

"No. But I spent all day canvassing this stupid town with this guy's stupid mug, and supposedly, he drinks at this...stupid bar."

Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on the window, startling the three of us. I grabbed onto Dean's jacket, staring out of the window with wide eyes to see Sam standing there, a grin on his face as he slid back into the car.

"That's not funny!"

"Yeah." Sam chuckled. "So, John Doe's name is Walter Rosen. He's from Oak Park, just west of Chicago. Went missing about a week ago."

"The night the devil's gate opened?"

"Yeah."

"So you think he's possessed?"

"Well, it's a good bet. So, what, he just walks up to someone, touches them, and they go stark raving psycho?"

"Those demons that got out at the gate – they're gonna do all kinds of things we haven't seen." Bobby said.

"You mean the demons we _let_ out." Sam muttered.

"Guys." Dean called, pointing across the parking lot to the red-haired man from the security footage as he walked towards the bar.

"Shit." I muttered, holding my stomach as I turned.

"What?" Bobby asked, looking at me in confusion.

"It's her demon-sense." Dean said.

"Demon-sense? That's what you're calling it?" Bobby asked incredulously, looking over at me.

"Hey, I didn't come up with it." I said, holding my hands up.

"That's what we're calling it." Dean interjected. "And if it's on, then we know what that means. Showtime."

"Wait." I said, grabbing Dean's jacket to stop him as he moved to get out of the car.

"What?"

"What'd I just say? We don't know what to expect out of this guy. We should tail him till we know for sure." Bobby said.

"Oh, so he kills someone and we just sit here with our junk in our hands?"

"We're no good dead! And we're not gonna make a move until we know what the score is."

"Hey, Bobby? I don't think that's an option." Sam muttered.

"Why not?" Bobby snapped. Sam nodded over to another car, where Isaac and Tamara were getting out, heading into the bar. "Dammit!"

Bobby and Dean ran ahead of Sam and I, rushing over to the bar doors, trying to push them open, but they wouldn't budge. From the inside of the bar, I heard Tamara start screaming. Bobby ran back to his car, yelling at us to get out of the way as he got inside. The three of us moved over quickly as he started the car, sending it flying through the doors of the bar.

Tamara's frantic screams for Isaac continued as we ran inside. The boys started throwing holy water, flinging it out the crowd of demons. I fought through the sick feeling in my stomach, grabbing Tamara, trying to pull her away from Isaac, who laid dead on the floor.

"Tamara, we have to go!" I said, pushing her over to the car and into the backseat.

"Dean, come on!" Sam called. I looked up from Tamara, seeing Dean fighting with the red-haired man.

"Dean!" I shouted, still trying to keep Tamara inside the car. Dean got the demon over to the trunk of the car, opening it just as he ran out of holy water, shoving the demon into the trunk before diving into the front seat.

"Go, go!"

* * *

 **ISAAC AND TAMARA'S HOUSE – NIGHT**

The whole drive back to the house, Tamara did nothing but demand to be taken back to the bar to try and get Isaac. It took both Sam and I in the backseat to hold her down. Once we got back, Dean and Bobby brought the demon inside, tying him to a chair in the middle of the room underneath a devil's trap on the ceiling.

"We're going back, now!" Tamara shouted, heading for the door again. I understood her pain, but if she went back there, she would die, too.

Sam quickly moved in front of the door, blocking her way. "Just hold on a second!"

"I left my husband bloody on the floor!"

"Okay, I understand that, but we can't go back."

"Fine. Then you stay. But I'm heading back to that bar."

"I'll go with her." Dean said.

"Like hell you are." I snapped, walking over to him.

"It's suicide, Dean!" Sam exclaimed.

"So what? I'm dead already!" Dean said, throwing his arms out. I shook my head, looking away from him as he glanced over at me.

"How you gonna kill 'em? Can't shoot 'em. You can't stab 'em. They're not just gonna wait in line to get exorcised!"

"I don't care!" Tamara shouted.

"We don't even know how many of them there are!"

"Yeah, we do. There's seven." Bobby muttered, entering the room. "Do you have any idea who we're up against?"

"Who?" I asked, looking up at him.

"The seven deadly sins, live and in the flesh."

" _What's in the box?!_ " Dean grinned, looking around the room, his eyes stopping on me as he raised his eyebrows. "Brad Pitt? _Se7en_? No?"

"Binsfeld's Classification of Demons." Bobby said, holding up a book. "In fifteen-eighty-nine, Binsfeld ID'd the seven sins – not just as human vices but as actual devils."

"The family – they were touched by Sloth." Sam muttered. "And the shopper..."

"Envy." I finished.

"Yup. The customer we got in the next room." Bobby nodded. "I couldn't suss it out at first, until Isaac. He was touched with an awful Gluttony."

"I don't give a rat's ass if they're the _Three Stooges_ or the _Four Tops_!" Tamara exclaimed. "I'm gonna slaughter every last one of them!"

"We already did it your way. You burst in there half-cocked and look what happened! These demons haven't been topside in half a millennium! We're talking medieval, Dark Ages. We've never faced anything close to this. So we are gonna take a breath..." Bobby paused, raising the volume of his voice. "And figure out what our next move is!"

Tamara stared at him for a moment, their eyes locked as they stared at each other in silence.

"I'm sorry for you loss." Bobby muttered quietly. Tears sprung to Tamara's eyes, and she turned and left the room without another word.

"I can't imagine what she's going through." Sam sighed, glancing over at me as I stared at Dean. His eyes widened for a moment, almost as if he'd just put two and two together.

"So you know who I am, huh?" Envy asked from the next room.

Bobby let out a huff, turning and walking over in front of him. "We do. We're not impressed."

"Why are you here?" Sam asked. "What are you after?"

The demon didn't respond, just staring up at him.

"He asked you a question." Dean said. "What do you want?"

The demon chucked darkly, shaking his head. Dean opened a flask of holy water, throwing some of it at him. He groaned out in pain as his skin sizzled.

"We already have...what we want." He panted.

"What's that?"

"We're out. We're free. Thanks to you, my kind are everywhere. I am legion, for we are many." He laughed. "So me, I'm just celebrating. Having a little fun."

"Fun?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. _Fun_. See, some people crochet. Others golf. Me? I like to see people's insides...on their outside."

"I'm gonna put you down like a dog." Tamara spat, walking into the room.

"Please. You really think you're better than me?" He laughed, shaking his head. "Which one of you can cast the first stone, huh? What about you, Dean? You're practically a walking billboard of gluttony and lust. And Tamara. All that wrath. It's the reason you and Isaac became hunters in the first place, isn't it? It's so much easier to drink in the rage than to face what really happened all those years ago."

Tamara flew forward, smacking him hard in the face. I quickly ran over, pulling her back. "He's not worth it."

"And you are?" He asked, shaking his head. "And you call us sins. We're not sins, man. We are natural human instinct. And you can repress and deny us all you want, but the truth is, you are just animals. Horny, greedy, hungry, violent animals. And you know what? You'll be slaughtered like animals, too. The others – they're coming for me."

"Maybe. But they're not gonna find you...'cause you'll be in hell." Dean said, much to the demon's shock. "Someone send this clown packing."

"My pleasure." Tamara muttered, reading from book in her hands. ""

The four of us left the room, hearing the demon scream out in pain as she dragged out the exorcism as slow as possible.

"I don't think we're gonna have to worry about hunting them." Bobby grumbled.

"What does that mean?" Sam asked.

"I think maybe this joker's right. They're gonna be hunting us. And they're not gonna quit easy."

"You guys...why don't you take Tamara and head for the hills?" Dean said, glancing over at me. "I'll stay back, slow them down, buy you a little time."

"You want us to leave you here for dead?" I asked, walking in front of him.

"Tori, I'm already dead."

"I swear to God, Dean, if I heard you say that one more time-"

"There's _six_ of them. We're out-manned, we're outgunned. We'll be dead by dawn."

"Then we'll die together." I shrugged. "But we're not going down without a fight."

One last scream echoed through the other room, followed by the sound of a book slamming shut and Tamara walking back out. "Demon's out of the guy."

"And the guy?"

"He didn't make it." She said coldly.

"Shit." I sighed, rubbing my temples. Dean pulled me to him, placing a kiss on my forehead.

* * *

A little while later, everything was still pretty quiet. We were all just waiting, sitting around trying to prepare ourselves for what was to come. Sam was across the room, filling up a few flasks with more holy water while Dean sat on the floor in front of me, loading a shotgun as I placed a few candles behind him in a row.

"I wish you didn't do this." Dean said, looking up at me.

"Yeah, well, there are a lot of things I wish you didn't do." I mumbled, kneeling in front of him. He shook his head, pulling in a deep breath. "Dean, you had to know I wouldn't leave you."

"Yeah."

"If something's gonna happen...I just-" I sighed. Dean leaned in, stopping me as he placed a kiss on my lips. "I love you."

"Me too." Dean smiled. I glanced up at Sam, seeing him smiling down at us. Suddenly, the lights began to flicker just as I felt a twinge of nausea hit my stomach. An old radio over on a table in the room turned on, playing a scratchy version of _We Shall Not Be Moved._

"Here we go." Dean stood, cocking the shotgun. I followed him, standing to my feet.

"Tamara! Tamara! Help me! Please!" A man shouted outside. I looked through the window, seeing Isaac staggering towards the house. "Tamara! I got away, but I'm hurt bad! I need help!"

"It's not him." I said, looking over at her. "It's a demon."

"Baby!" Isaac called, banging on the door. "Why won't you let me in? You left me behind back there. How could you do that? We swore...at that lake in Michigan. Remember? We swore we would never leave each other!"

"How did he know that?" Tamara sobbed, glancing back to us.

"Steady, Tamara. Steady." Bobby muttered.

"You just gonna leave me out here? You just gonna let me die?! I guess that's what you do, dear! Like that night those things came to our house – came for our daughter! You just let her die, too." He said. I glanced over at Dean, sharing a wide-eyed look with him.

"You son of a bitch!" Tamara screamed, pushing the door open, breaking the salt line.

"Tamara, no!" Bobby yelled. Tamara tackled Isaac down the steps, raising the Palo Santo stake above him.

"You're not Isaac!" She shouted, plunging the stake in his chest. He let out a scream, dying.

In the chaos of six more demons pouring into the house, we were split up and I had no idea where Sam or Dean were. Just as I was about to try and find them, a large, baling man walked into the room Bobby and I were in, stalking us with a confident smile on his face until he stopped short, looking around confused.

"Devil's trap." I said.

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son." Bobby muttered, picking up the book to read off the exorcism.

On my way out of the room, I grabbed a flask of holy water and one of the other shotguns Dean loaded. I walked through the kitchen, constantly looking over my shoulder as I made my way through another hallway, hearing Dean's voice in a room down there.

"I'm not gonna hurt you – not yet. Not unless you want me to." A woman cooed.

I peered around the corner, my mouth dropping open when I saw Dean locked in an embrace with the waitress from the bar, kissing her. Just as I was about to enter the room, I felt a hand grab my shoulder, spinning me around.

"Hi, there." The woman smiled, throwing me across the hallway into another room, the gun flying out of my hand as I went. " _The ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants,_ and I want _you._ "

"Greed, huh?"

"You should know." She grinned, stalking towards me. I glanced over at the gun, trying to make a move for it when she grabbed the back of my hair, lifting my head up as she bent down. "I mean, you. You little, _innocent_ thing. Full of greed."

"Wh-" I cried out in pain as she grabbed me by the throat, pushing me up against the wall.

"Willing to let a good man die to save the one she loves out of her own selfishness. You'd do anything to save him. _Anything_ , to _anyone_. Don't try to deny it. You're guilty of many sins. Wraith. Envy. Lust."

I clawed at her arm as she gripped my neck tighter, digging her nails into my skin. Remembering the flask, I quickly grabbed it out of my pocket, throwing water in her face.

She fell back, crying out in pain as her skin sizzled. I coughed a few times, reaching for the gun as she regained her balance, grabbing my ankle. I stretched my arm out as far as it could go, my fingertips grazing the barrel. I dug my nails into the hardwood floor, pulling myself forward just a few more inches with all the strength I had, grabbing the gun.

As soon as I had it in my hands, I turned around, shooting the demon, sending her flying backwards. I quickly got to my feet just as Dean ran out of the bathroom, looking over at the marks on my neck with wide eyes. I walked past him, pushing the gun to his hands before standing over the demon as she panted, staring up at me.

"Go ahead, kill me you selfish bitch."

"Go to hell." I spat. " _Exorcizamus te, Omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica_..."

* * *

We weren't able to save everyone. But we saved three people. Even though I was sad about the rest, it was three people who didn't have to live in hell on earth anymore. I stood back, watching Sam and Dean pour salt and kerosene inside the shallow pit of bodies of the ones who didn't make it.

A few yards away, Tamara stood in front of Isaac's burning body, having a moment of quiet. I couldn't help but watch her, trying not to think about how much she was suffering. And how I'd be feeling the same way all too soon.

"Think she's gonna be alright?" Sam asked, waking over to my side.

"No." I shook my head, looking up at him with sad eyes. Dean stood a few feet away, staring over at me for a moment before looking to the ground. "Definitely not."

"Well, you look like hell warmed over." Dean muttered, looking up at Bobby as he made his way over to us from the house.

"You try exorcising all night and see how you feel."

"How are they?" I asked.

"Well, they'll make it. Lifetime of therapy bills ahead, but, still..."

"That's more than you can say for these poor bastards." Dean sighed, looking back down into the pit.

"Bobby, that knife – what kind of blade can kill a demon?" Sam asked, making me think back to what he had told us last night about some mysterious blonde girl with a knife that could kill demons. I probably wouldn't have believed him if it weren't for the very apparent stab wounds in each victim, though.

"Yesterday, I would have said there was no such thing."

"I'm just gonna ask it again – who was that masked chick? Actually, the more troubling question would be, how come a girl can fight better than you?" Dean asked, looking up at his brother.

"Three demons, Dean. At once."

"Hey, whatever it takes to get you through the night, pal." Dean said, slapping Sam on the shoulder.

"Yeah, well, if you want a troubling question, I got one for you."

"What's that?"

"If we let out the seven deadly sins, what else did we let out?"

"You're right. That is troubling." Dean nodded, lighting a match, throwing it into the pit.

"Definitely not something I want to think about." I muttered, running a hand over the marks on my throat.

A few minutes later, Tamara came back over, a sad look in her eyes. "See you guys around."

"The world just got a lot scarier. Be careful." Bobby told her.

"You too." She nodded, getting in her car, driving off.

"Keep your eyes peeled for omens." Bobby said, looking back to us. "I'll do the same."

"You got it." Dean nodded.

"Wait, Bobby. We can win this war, right?" Sam asked, a hopeful look in his eyes. An uncomfortable silence feel over us as Bobby stared, a worried look in his eyes.

"Catch you on the next one." He said, turning and getting into his car. I swallowed hard, wrapping my arms around myself.

"So, where to?" Dean asked.

"Uh, I don't know. I was thinking Louisiana maybe." Sam replied.

"Little early for Mardi Gras, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Listen, I was talking to Tamara, and she mentioned this hoodoo priestess outside of Shreveport that might be able to help us out. You know, with your- with your demon deal."

"Nah." Dean shrugged, shaking his head.

"Nah? What does that mean, _nah_?"

"Sam, no hoodoo spell's gonna break this deal, alright? It's a goose chase."

"Yeah, but we don't know that, Dean-"

"Yes, we do. Forget it. She can't help."

"Dean, maybe- maybe we can just go see her?" I asked. "See what she says?"

"We're not going, and that's that." Dean said, glancing over at me. "What about Reno, huh?"

Sam grabbed Dean's sleeve as he tried to walk away, turning him back around. "You know what? I've had it. I've been bending over backwards trying to be nice to you, and...I don't care anymore."

"That didn't last long."

"Yeah, well, you know what? I've been busting my ass trying to keep you alive, Dean, and you act like you couldn't care less. What, you got some kind of death wish or something?"

"No, it's not like that."

"Then what's it like, Dean?" Sam asked. "Please, tell me."

"We trap the crossroads demon, trick it, try to welch our way out of the deal in any way? You die. Okay? You die, and Tori goes to hell. Those are the terms. There's no way out of it. If you try to find a way, so help me god, _I'm_ gonna stop you."

"Wait, Tori?" Sam asked, a stunned look on his face. "Why would Tori go to hell?"

"Because I made a deal before Dean."

"What?!" Sam exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"I had five years in exchange for bringing you back."

"But you're not going anymore-"

"Because Dean made his deal." I finished, looking down as my eyes started to well up. "I should be the one going."

"No, you shouldn't." Dean said, staring at me with hard eyes.

"How could the two of you be so stupid?" Sam asked, shaking his head.

"Gee, thanks a lot, Sam."

"You're a hypocrite, Dean. How did you feel when Dad sold his soul for you? 'Cause I was there. I remember. You were twisted, and broken." Sam said, looking over at me. "You were there, you saw him. And now the both of you go and do the same thing. To me, to each other. What you did was selfish."

"Sam, that's a little harsh don't you think?" I asked.

"You're not upset that you're gonna have to live without him?" Sam asked, shutting me up right away with that.

"You know what? It was selfish." Dean nodded. "But I'm okay with that."

"I'm not." Sam said. "She's not."

"Tough. After everything I've done for this family, I think I'm entitled.." Dean said, pulling in a deep breath. "Truth is, I'm tired. I don't know, it's like there's a- a light at the end of the tunnel."

"It's hellfire, Dean."

"Whatever. You're alive-" Dean said to Sam, glancing over at me. "You're safe. I feel good, for the first time in a long time. I got a year to live, I'd like to make the most of it. So what do you say we kill some evil sons of bitches and we raise a little hell, huh?"

"You're unbelievable." Sam sighed, glancing over at me as Dean went over to the Impala, opening the door.

"Very true." Dean smiled, getting into the driver seat.

"There's gotta be a way out of this." Sam said, glancing down at me. "We have to find it."

"Yeah."

As much as I didn't want to allow myself to admit it...it was true. I knew it deep down. For once in my life I could say that a demon was right. About one thing, at least.

I'd do _anything_ to save him.

* * *

 **Hello s3! Thanks for ripping my heart out, always.**

 **The story's summary is a little meh, so I'll probably be changing that soon. I just wanted to throw something together to get this story started because I'm** **super excited to write this, as it is one of my favorite seasons. I mean, Mystery Spot came out of it, so who wouldn't love it? Also, I tried to do a little extra something-something up at the beginning of the chapter *wink, wink* so let me know your thoughts about that!  
**

 **As always, thanks for reading and supporting this story! I hope you like it!**

 **Let's be friends!**

 **Twitter: phoenixfire779  
Instagram: phoenixfirefanfiction **


	2. The Kids Are Alright

_You and your museum of lovers  
The precious collection you've housed in your covers  
My simpleness threatened by my own admission  
And the bags are much too heavy  
In my insecure condition  
My pregnant mind is fat full with envy again  
_… _.._

 _So I pacify problems with kissed and cuddles  
Diligently doubtful through all kinds of trouble  
Then I find myself choking on all my contradictions  
_

 _'Cause I still love to wash in your old bathwater  
Love to think that you couldn't love another  
Share a toothbrush  
You're my kind of man  
I still love to wash in your old bathwater  
Make me feel like you couldn't love another  
I can't help it  
You're my kind of man_

 _ **No Doubt – Bathwater**_

* * *

On a long road-trip that seemed to lead absolutely nowhere, we stopped into a small diner to take a break after driving for hours on end. Dean stayed outside at a payphone, speaking to someone about something. He didn't say what, but Sam dragged me inside to call Bobby before I could really ask what he was up to.

"What do you mean you don't think it will work, Bobby? It's a demon-dispelling ritual." Sam muttered into the phone, typing away on his laptop. I rested my head in my hand, watching him as he worked tirelessly to try and find a way to get Dean out of this deal.

A loud tap on the window startled me, making me jump as I looked up to see Dean standing there, waving a stack of papers with a big smile on his face

"Well, maybe we got the translation wrong. Look, we can't just let Dean fry in hell while we sit around doing nothing."

"Jesus, Sam." I sighed, shaking my head. I didn't want to think about that.

"Sorry." Sam whispered to me before going back to Bobby. "Well, there's got to be something that we-" I kicked Sam underneath the table, nodding to Dean as he entered the diner, walking back over to the table. "Oh, uh, yeah. I gotta go, never mind."

"Hey. Who was that?" Dean asked, looking down at him suspiciously.

"Uh, I was just ordering pizza."

"Dude, you do realize that you're in a restaurant?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I just felt like pizza, you know?" Sam muttered, smiling a tight-lipped grin up at Dean.

"O-kay, Weirdy Mcweirderton. So, I think I got something."

"What?" I asked.

"Cicero, Indiana. Guy galls on his own power saw."

"Cicero?"

"Yeah." Dean nodded, glancing over at me. "That's okay, right?"

"I mean, sure." I shrugged, looking back to the table. Going back to Indiana was always difficult for me, but if that's what Dean wanted to do, I had no choice.

"Okay. And?" Sam asked, raising an expectant eyebrow. "What, that's it? One power saw?"

"Well, yeah."

"And you think that this is a case?"

"Well, I don't know. Could be." Dean shrugged, sitting down next to me.

"What happened to wanting to go to Vegas or something?"

"Hey, we're close. Might as well check it out."

"I guess."

* * *

 **CICERO, INDIANA – DAY**

The Impala drove through the streets of the small, quiet neighborhood, Morning Hill. We passed a few houses along the way that were still constriction, signs out in front announcing when they'll be available to buy.

"Alright, let's check here." Dean said, pointing to a driveway.

"Dean, they're obviously busy." I muttered, noting the brightly colored balloons out front.

"Hey, free food." Dean said, shooting me a wink before getting out of the car, leaning back in to talk to Sam. "You head over to the morgue, Tori and I will talk to some people around here, see if we can figure out what's going on."

"Sure." Sam nodded, sliding into the driver seat as I got out of the car.

"Dean, I really don't know if there is anything going on here." I said, glancing over at him as we went up the walkway.

"Well, you never know." Dean shrugged, going up on the porch to ring the doorbell.

A few moments passed before the door was unlocked and pulled open. My mouth popped open at who I saw standing there, seeing her staring back at us with the same look. I glanced up at Dean, seeing a mildly shocked look on his face.

"Dean!" The beautiful brunette smiled, staring over at him.

"Lisa! What a surprise."

"I'll say." I mumbled, shooting her a small smile when she glanced at me. Did Dean know about this? He had to.

"Tori, right?" She asked.

"Uh-huh." I nodded.

"So, uh, how long has it been?"

"Eight, going on nine years now." Dean mumbled a little awkwardly. "Crazy, right?"

"Yeah. So, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same thing." I said, looking over at Dean, who opened and closed his mouth several times, shaking his head.

"Oh, we were just- we were just passing through. And uh, I couldn't resist." Dean smiled. "I remember that you love surprises."

"Yeah." She chuckled, letting out a breath. "Dean Winchester. Wow. Just... wow."

" _Wow_..." I mumbled quietly, folding my arms.

"Well, um, I'm- I'm sorry. You kind of came at a bad time. We're having a party."

"Well, I love parties." He smiled.

"That's great, because I hate them." I said, turning to walk away.

"Oh, no." Dean said, grabbing my arm, pulling me back to his side. "You love parties."

Lisa stared at us with a strange look for a moment before laughing awkwardly, opening the door for us to enter. With the noise coming from the backyard and the fact that she was walking a few feet ahead of us, I reached up, smacking Dean on the back of the head.

"Hey!"

"You have a lot of nerve, Dean."

"What'd I do?"

" _What'd I do?_ " I mimicked, shaking my head. "Like you didn't know she lived here."

"I didn't. I swear."

"Really?"

"Really. Cross my heart and hope to-"

"Shut up." I stopped him, shaking my head.

"I'm serious, Tor." He repeated. I scoffed, feeling tears in my eyes as I looked back up to him.

"You know, if you wanted to go screw an old girlfriend, you could've just told me."

"What?! She wasn't my girlfriend!" Dean exclaimed, shutting his eyes for a moment when he realized he forgot to defend the most crucial part. "That's not- I mean, I didn't want to- I had no idea!"

"Guys, you coming?" Lisa called from the back door, a small smile on her face. I walked ahead of Dean, following Lisa out to the deck even though I wanted to turn and run back out the front door.

"So, who's the party for?" Dean asked, walking up behind us.

"Ben. My son."

"Oh. You have a-"

"Yup." She nodded, gesturing across the yard to a young boy wearing a black jacket and dark jeans opening presents. "That's him."

"Yes! _AC/DC_ rules!" He exclaimed, smiling at the CD in his hands.

"How old-"

"Eight." She smiled, waving over to another woman, looking back to us. "Could you excuse me a minute?"

"Yeah, sure. Don't mind us." Dean mumbled.

My feet froze in place as I stared over at the boy, glancing back to Dean, my eyes darting between the two. I didn't know what to think, I forgot how to breathe.

"Oh my god." I whispered, keeping my eyes on Dean.

"What?"

"He's eight. Do the math." I snapped. Dean looked up to the sky for a moment, counting the years. Once he'd realized what I meant, he looked back down to me with wide eyes. "Yeah."

"No. Come on, Tor-" Dean said, reaching out for me.

In my anger and despair, I pulled away from him, making my way across the yard as he called for me. I ignored him and kept going, stopping a good distance away under the shade of a tree, leaning against it. There were a couple women sitting near the tree, speaking to each other in hushed tones.

"Did you hear Lisa call him _Dean_?" The one asked.

"Yeah. Why?" The other replied.

"You don't know about Dean? _The_ Dean. _Best-night-of-my-life_ Dean?"

"No! Tell me."

"Oh, my god. So, they had this crazy, semi-illegal-" The woman stopped, glancing up at me when she noticed I was listening. "Can I help you?"

"No." I mumbled, pushing off the tree, making my way back towards the house. This was too much and I felt like I was going to pass out. I had to get out of here before I heard anything else about Dean and Lisa's time spent together...or what came out of it.

Speaking of what came out of it, as I walked back to the house, I spotted Dean and Ben sitting next to each other eating cake.

"What's up?" Ben asked.

"What's up with you?" Dean replied. Just then, a woman and her daughter walked by and almost as if it was on cue, Dean checked out the woman while Ben stared at the girl. "So, it's your birthday."

"Guilty."

"It's a cool party."

"Dude, it's so freakin' sweet. And this moon bounce – it's epic."

"Yeah. It's pretty awesome." Dean muttered awkwardly.

"You know who else thinks they're awesome? Chicks. It's like hot-chick city out there." Ben said, smacking Dean on the chest. Ben shoved another piece of cake in his mouth before standing up, walking over to the bounce house. "Look out ladies, here comes trouble!"

As Dean was staring after him, I snuck by him, making my way back inside the house where Lisa and her friend stood, talking to each other.

"There is something really wrong...with her." The woman muttered. "I'm not sure that Katie is...Katie."

"What?" Lisa asked.

"I'm not sure that's my daughter." She said. I made my presence known, catching their attention.

Without saying anything, I walked through the house, making my way over to the front door. I heard footsteps behind me, glancing back to see Lisa coming over.

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh, everything's just fine." I mumbled, trying to fight away the tears I knew were about to come.

"Tori, what's wrong?" She asked, her voice full of concern.

"If Dean asks, just tell him I left."

"Tori, I don't- I mean, I don't know why Dean came here, but-"

"It doesn't matter. I have to go." I said, opening the door. I ignored the fact that she stood in the doorway, watching me. I pulled out my phone, dialing Sam's number as I walked to the sidewalk.

" _Tori?_ "

"Sam, are you done?"

" _Yeah, you guys ready_?"

"I am." I sniffled.

" _Are you crying?_ "

"Can you please just come pick me up?" I asked, giving him the address. "I'm around here."

" _Where's Dean?_ "

"Sam, please?"

" _Okay."_

"Thank you." I mumbled, wiping a tear off my cheek with my sleeve. "Love you."

" _Love you, too Tori. Sit tight, I'll be right over._ "

As the tears started pouring down my face, I snapped the phone shut, shoving my hands in my pockets as I walked down the sidewalk. I just couldn't seem to process anything that just happened.

I wanted to believe Dean when he said that he had no idea Lisa was here, but I wasn't too sure. I never really worried about Dean being unfaithful, but the situation he was in made me second guess everything.

And on top of all of that, there was a child involved. A kid who, no doubt, was Dean's. Just thinking about it made me sick. I knew I shouldn't feel this way, but it just didn't seem fair.

Once I made it a good distance from the house, I sat on the sidewalk, wrapping my arms around my knees as I waited for Sam. About ten minutes later, I saw the Impala drive up in the distance and got up, making my way over to it.

"Hey." Sam muttered cautiously, watching me as I sat in the car.

"Hi."

"What happened?"

"I don't even know." I said, shaking my head. Sam placed a hand on my knee, shooting me a comforting glance. "I just want to get as far away from here as possible."

* * *

DPOV

After looking everywhere in the backyard for Tori, I made my way back inside where Lisa was, mixing up a pitcher of iced tea. She glanced up at me as I entered, a strange look in her eyes.

"Have you seen Tori?"

"She left about fifteen minutes ago."

"What?" I asked, walking over to the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Where'd she go?"

"She didn't say. She didn't want to talk to me." Lisa said, placing the towel in her hands down on the counter, looking up at me. "Dean, why did you come here?"

"I told you-"

"Okay, but that's a lie."

"There's another reason, but I- I can't really tell you. I honestly didn't know you were here. How would I know if you were still even in Indiana?" I shrugged. I just wished Tori believed me.

"Well, did you tell Tori that? 'Cause she was pretty upset."

"She was?"

"She looked like she was about to cry."

"Shit." I huffed, throwing my head in my hand. I pushed away from the counter, heading over to the door. "It was nice seeing you."

"You, too." Lisa smiled, watching me go.

In my haste to leave, I completely forgot to ask her about Ben. Not that the conversation wouldn't have been painfully awkward to have, but I needed to know the truth. Though, now that I'd left, I can't exactly go back in there, walk up to her and say _so, Ben's mine, right?_

Either way, Tori was more important right now. I had to get back to her.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY  
** TPOV

I'd just got finished telling Sam most of everything that happened, and to be honest, I wasn't quite sure he believed me.

"Wow." He sighed, cracking open another beer, handing it to me. I grabbed the bottle, taking a long swig from it.

"Tell me about it."

"But Tori, I mean, would Dean really do that to you?"

"I didn't think so."

"Maybe your jumping to conclusions."

"You saw him back then. He was like putty in her hands."

"That was a long time ago. He has you now."

"And he's going to- why would he care?" I argued, knowing deep down that I was wrong to keep pushing this.

"Because he loves you." Sam said simply.

"Well, I didn't tell you the worst part." I sniffed, wiping my nose with my sleeve.

" _The worst_? What's worse than that?"

"She had a son, Sam." I muttered, feeling the tears spring to my eyes all over again. "She had a son, today was his birthday and he turned eight."

"Oh...my god." Sam said, a stunned look on his face.

"Yup." I nodded. "You should've seen him, Sam. He's so much like Dean, it's almost scary."

"But-"

"There are no _but's_ , Sam." I mumbled. "...it's just not fair."

"Come here." Sam said, pulling me to him as I started crying. I barely even registered the sound of the door opening and closing until I felt Sam pull away slightly. I looked up, seeing Dean step in front of me as Dean moved to the side.

"Back so soon?" I asked, wiping my tears away.

"Tori, please don't do that." Dean said, a heartbreaking look in his eyes as he stared down at me. "You have to believe me, I didn't know she was there."

"Dean, you know how big of a stretch that is, right?"

"I know, I do. But you- you have to believe me." Dean pleaded. Sam quietly moved over to the door, making his way outside to give us some time alone.

"You're seriously telling me that you've never thought about fucking around with someone else within this year?"

"No."

"Dean-"

"Tori, no." Dean said, cradling my face in his hands. "The time I have left, I just want to be with _you_ as much as I possibly can. No one else."

I looked up into his bright green eyes, seeing nothing but sincerity there, and instantly felt like shit for what I'd said. I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Dean muttered quietly, running a hand through my hair.

"No, it's not. I know better than that." I mumbled, pulling back, tears starting to stream down my cheeks. "I've just- everything that's been going on – I just don't know what to think anymore. I can't-"

Dean shushed me, pulling me back to him again, his voice thick with emotion. "Please don't cry."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, babe." He chuckled lightly.

"Sor- never mind." I muttered, burying my face in his chest. "I love you."

"I know."

"So." I sighed, pulling back from him sightly. "Ben..."

Dean nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Oh, believe me, I know that." I chuckled, shaking my head, heading back over to the door to get Sam. When I opened it, Sam nearly fell into the room, straightening up with a guilty look on his face. "Were you Eavesdropping?"

"No." Sam mumbled, glancing down for a moment before looking up at me with a sheepish grin. "I'm glad you guys worked it out."

"Yeah, me too." I said, smiling over at Dean.

"So, I guess that means we can leave?"

"Nope." Dean sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Why not?"

"Because there really is a job here."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. When I was looking for you back at the party, I overheard some women-"

"The brunette and the redhead?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah." Dean nodded, noticing the disdain in my voice. "Why?"

"No reason." I mumbled.

"Okay.."

"Go on."

"Right, yeah. So I overheard them talking about a few freak accidents in the neighborhood, you know, like the one in the paper? Turns out there's four more that never even made the paper. People falling off of ladders and drowning in their jacuzzi's, all over the neighborhood."

"That is weird." Sam muttered.

"Yeah, something's up. Something these nice, big gates can't protect them from."

* * *

 **MORNING HILL – DAY**

After getting some sleep, we decided to head out to one of the victim's homes to try and see if we could get any more information about what was going on here. Sam and I stood, dressed in our suits, in front of a young mother, who's eyes were still puffy from crying.

"So, once again, I'm very sorry to disturb you. We just really want to expedite that life-insurance policy." Sam said.

"Of course."

"Okay."

The woman led us around the back of the house where the ladder was still leaning up against the side of it. I noticed a smudge of what looked to be red paint on the top railing, trailing over to the window sill.

"This is, um, where he fell."

"Okay." I nodded. "How exactly did he-"

"He was just inside changing a light bulb. Must have lost his balance." She sniffled.

"Were you here when this happened?" Sam asked.

"No. I was out. Uh, the only one here was our daughter, Dakota." She said, nodding to a small girl inside. The little girl stared through the window, a creepy look on her face as she watched us.

"Okay." Sam nodded. "Well, uh, I think that's all we need."

"Okay."

"We'll get out of your way now." I said.

"Thank you." She nodded, turning to walk up the steps in front of us. Sam nudged me, pointing to the back of her neck where a large oval wound was, a bunch of little dots around it.

* * *

After we left the house, Sam brought me over to the park where Dean had been, dropping me off there before heading back to the motel to do some more research. As I made my way through the park, I found myself looking over at some of the kids, checking to see if there was anything strange about them.

But other than the fact that the girl was a little antisocial and the mother looked sleep deprived, I didn't notice anything too out of the ordinary.

Across the park, I saw Ben sitting at bench, staring over at a group of older boys who were playing with something, throwing it back and forth. I watched from a few yards away as Dean went over to Ben, sitting down next to him. They spoke to each other, staring back at the group of boys. Dean was about to get up when Ben stopped him, speaking animatedly.

Dean leaned down towards Ben, telling him something before smiling at him. Ben nodded, getting up, walking over to the group. Ben cleared his throat loudly, glancing back at Dean, who gave him a thumbs up.

"Oh, no." I mumbled, not liking where this was heading. I stared making my way over to Dean, who was watching the scene in front of him with a smile.

"I'd like my game back, please." Ben muttered, looking up at the bigger kids.

"Fine. Take it back." The older boy spat. Ben looked up nervously, turning to leave. "See? Told you guys he was a-"

Suddenly, Ben turned back around, kicking the boy hard between the legs, sending him flying to the ground.

Ben picked his game up, running back over to the bench. "Thanks. Dude, that was awesome!"

"Dean, what the hell?" I asked, looking between him and the boy.

"Oh, you were at my party, too." Ben said. I glanced down at him just as he winked at me, a smile appearing on his face. "Hey."

"Uh..." I muttered, at a loss for words. He's more like Dean than I thought.

"Hey, hey, back off. She's mine." Dean said, standing to wrap an arm around me.

"Benjamin Isaac Braeden!" Lisa yelled, walking over to us. "What's gotten into you?"

"He stole my game." Ben shrugged, pointing to the kid that was still holding his crotch.

"So you kick him? Since when is-" Lisa paused, looking over at Dean. "Did you tell my son to beat up that kid?"

"What?" Dean shrugged. "Somebody had to teach him how to kick the bully in the nads."

"Dean." I scolded, shaking my head.

"Who asked you to teach him anything?" Lisa asked harshly.

"Just relax." Dean said.

"What are you even still doing here? We had one weekend together a million years ago. You don't know me, and you have no business with my son." Lisa snapped, grabbing Ben's arm, walking away with him.

They barely even got a few feet away before Ben broke away from his mother, running back over to Dean to give him a hug. "Thanks."

I couldn't help but smile at the sweet exchange, watching the boy smile up at Dean before running back to his mother.

"You okay?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Dean nodded, something catching his eye across the park. I followed his gaze to three children, all of whom were staring over at us with creepy stares much like the little girl back at that house.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

I tried to fill Dean in on as much as I knew on our way back to the motel, which was only a short distance away from the park we'd just been to. Sam was back inside the room when we entered, staring down at his laptop, like always. Dean quickly shut the door behind us, pulling his jacket off.

"Something's wrong with the kids in this town."

"Yeah. Tell me about it." Sam nodded. "What do you know about changelings?"

"Evil monster children?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Creepy, _stare at you like you're lunch_ kids?" Dean added.

"Yeah. There's one at every victim's house." Sam said, sitting upright. "Changelings can perfectly mimic children. According to lore, they climb in the window, snatch the kid."

I nodded. "So at that house, those red marks-"

"It was probably blood."

"The changeling grabs a kid, assumes its form, joins the happy fam just for kicks?" Dean asked.

"Not quite. Changelings feed on the mom's synovial fluid. The moms have these odd bruises on the back of their necks. Changelings can drain them for a few weeks before mom finally croaks."

"And then there's dad and the babysitter."

"Yeah. Seems like anyone who gets between the changeling and its food source ends up dead."

"And fire's the only way to waste them?"

"Yup."

"Great. We'll just bust in, drag the kids out, torch them on the front lawn. That'll play great with the neighbors." Dean muttered, rolling his eyes. "What about the real ones? What happens to them?"

"According to lore, they stash them underground somewhere. I don't know why, but if it's true, the real kids might be out there."

"We better start looking." Dean paused for a beat, thinking of something. "So, any kid in the neighborhood is vulnerable?"

"Yeah."

"We gotta make a stop. I want to check on someone."

"Dean, if the real kids are still alive, we don't have time." Sam said, standing to his feet. "We-"

"We have to." Dean said, heading back outside.

"Lisa's kid?" Sam asked, looking over at me.

"Yeah." I nodded, letting out a sigh as followed Dean out to the Impala.

* * *

 **LISA'S HOUSE – NIGHT**

The Impala pulled up in front of the same house as yesterday, all the balloons now gone from the premises. Dean got out of the car, leaning back inside when he realized I was following him.

"Come on."

"What?" I asked, shaking my head. "I'm not going."

"She might listen to you."

"Why would she listen to me? You're the one that slept with her. _Best night of my life_ Dean." I mumbled, rolling my eyes.  
"She said that?" Dean asked, a smirk on his lips.

"Shut up."

"Yeah, yeah." Dean nodded, shooting me his best puppy-dog eyes. "Please?"

"Fine." I huffed, getting out of the car. We made our way back up the porch to the door, ringing the doorbell.

Lisa answered, a bewildered look on her face. "What? What are-"

"I was thinking...Ben's birthday. I didn't even bring him a present." Dean said.

"Oh, that- that's okay."

"No, no, I feel terrible, so, uh, here." Dean muttered, handing her a credit card. "Take a long weekend, just the two of you, on me- well, _us_."

"What?" Lisa asked, glancing over at me.

"Uh, yeah." I smiled. "You know..."

"I hear Six Flags is great this time of year." Dean interjected. "Go now. Avoid the traffic."

" _Siegfried Houdini._ " Lisa read, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Whose card is this?"

"Mine." Dean said, noticing she didn't buy it. "Never mind. It'll work. I promise."

"You two should leave."

"Lisa."

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Ben called, walking down the stairs, rubbing his eyes.

"Nothing, Ben. It's cool." Dean said.

"Make them go away, mommy." Ben muttered, his voice lifeless.

"You heard him. Get out." Lisa said.

"Lisa, listen, you just don't get it." I told her.

"What don't I get? That you're making my son uncomfortable?"

"No-"

"Get out!" She shouted, pushing us back outside, shutting the door behind us.

"Dean, look." I said, pointing over to a couple red marks on one of the windows on the second floor. We quickly ran back over to the Impala, getting into the car.

"What happened?" Sam asked, noticing our panic.

"They took Ben. He's changed." Dean said.

"What?! Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "There's blood all over the windowsill."

"I don't think it is blood, and I think I know where the kids are." Dean said, starting the car.

* * *

We drove back to the front of the neighborhood where the few houses were still under construction, large mounds of dirt outside. I went over to it, picking some up with my fingers, feeling the red substance.

"Red dirt. That's what was on the windows."

"You take the front." Dean told Sam. "We'll go around."

Dean and I pulled our flashlights out, making our way around the back of the large house, trying to stay quiet, listening for anything as we entered the unfinished home.

"Did you hear that?" Dean asked, looking over at me.

"Yeah. In the basement?" I asked. Dean shrugged. The two of us made our way over to the stairs leading down to the dark basement, going down.

The closer we got, the more noise I heard until we came upon a few large cages with kids inside. Seeing us, they all started getting even more upset, not sure who we were or why we were there.

"It's okay." I said, recognizing the one girl from Ben's party. "Hi. What's your name?"

"Katie." She muttered, her voice quiet.

"Okay, Katie. We're gonna get you out of here, alright?" I told her. All she did was nod, looking up at me with big, scared eyes.

"Ben." Dean sighed in relief, standing a few cages down. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay."

Walking past the cages, I found a woman inside one of them, practically curled up in the side of the cage. I looked up to see Dean pulling Ben out of his cage, hugging him tightly before setting him back to the ground, ruffling his hair.

"Alright, come on." Dean told him, walking over to me, handing me a piece of metal to break the locks open with. I went back over to Katie's cage, busting the lock, letting her out.

"Thank you." She said, hugging me tightly. I smiled down at her, gently pushing her over to Ben, who was keeping the kids near him.

"It's okay. You're gonna get out of here, alright?" Ben said, comforting the other children.

"Okay, everybody back! Everybody back!" Dean called, ready to smash the window.

"Come here." I said, calling everyone over to me once they were safely out of their cages. "Cover your eyes, okay?"

They all nodded, shutting their eyes tightly as Dean broke the window, brushing the shards of glass off the ledge with his sleeve.

"Here. Use this." Ben said, handing Dean his jacket.

"Aright." Dean nodded, placing the small jacket on the windowsill. "Alright, Ben. Come on. Come on."

"Him first." Ben nodded to another boy. I smiled down at Ben as he glanced back at me. "What?"

"You're a sweet kid." I said.

"I'm not sweet." Ben scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Well...should've seen that coming." I mumbled, glancing up at Dean with amused eyes.

"Hey! Guys!" Sam called, running into the room. "There's a mother."

"A mother changeling?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. We got to get these kids out quick. I guess that's why the changelings are keeping the kids alive – so the mom can snack on them."

Suddenly, Katie let out a loud scream, looking behind Sam with scared eyes. The changeling mother pushed Sam, sending him flying across the room before punching Dean, throwing him down on his back.

"Come on, kids. Go." I said, trying to hurry them outside.

I glanced back, seeing Sam holding the flamethrower towards her. She immediately kicked it out of his hand, kicking him in the stomach, punching him a few times, throwing him again. I lifted up another girl towards the window as Dean got to his feet, lunging at the mother with a plank of wood. She punched him, knocking him to the ground again.

"Dean!"

"Get them out of here!" Dean yelled, grabbing a brick, charging at her again.

"Come on, Ben." I muttered.

"Are you sure?"

"Ben, go." I said, helping him up through the window. Just as I finished and turned around, I felt the intense heat coming off the flamethrower as Sam torched the mother changeling, burning her to a pile of ash.

* * *

 **IMPALA – NIGHT**

Ben leaned up on the back of the front seat, looking between Dean and I as he drove back to Lisa's house. "So, what's the deal here?"

"What?" Dean asked, glancing back at him.

"With you guys."

"Well, Sam and I are brothers."

"I always wanted a brother." Ben huffed.

"No, you don't." Sam muttered, chuckling at the look on Dean's face.

"Excuse you."

"What about you and her?" Ben asked, glancing over at me.

"Well, Tori is my, uh-"

"Girlfriend." I said, rolling my eyes. "One word, Dean."

"Huh." Ben nodded, patting Dean on the shoulder. "You did pretty good."

"Yeah, I know." Dean smirked, glancing over at me as he pulled up in front of Lisa's house.

Lisa was standing out on the front lawn, a panicked look on her face until Ben ran over to her. "Ben! Baby, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Mom."

"Oh, my god." Lisa sobbed, looking up at us. "What the hell just happened?"

"I'll explain everything if you want me to, but, trust me, you probably don't." Dean said. "The important thing is that Ben's safe.

"Thank you." Lisa smiled, hugging Dean.

"Yeah."

"You, too. Thank you." She said, pulling me to her, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, albeit, a little awkwardly. "Come on, come inside."

"Um, no-"

"Please."

"I- okay." I nodded, reluctantly following her and Ben into the house with Dean and Sam behind me.

"I want to know what happened." Lisa muttered, looking back to Dean and I.

Sam glanced up at the table in the living room, seeing a bunch of CD's sitting there. "Hey, Ben, wanna show me your CD's?"

"Yeah!" Ben smiled, heading into the living room with Sam.

Lisa led us into the kitchen, leaning down on the counter. "Tell me."

Dean shook his head. "Lisa, I don't know..."

"Come on, I can take it." She said, turning around to start making coffee.

"Well." Dean paused, letting out a breath of air. "Basically..those _things –_ changelings – pose as children to feed off the mother's saliva fluid."

"Her what?" She asked, turning around with wide eyes.

" _Synovial_ fluid." I corrected, smiling over at him.

"Oh, yeah." Dean nodded, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Okay, that's still pretty weird." Lisa muttered. "Probably worse."

"Yeah." I sighed.

"So, what happens to the real kids?"

"They take them. Hide them somewhere they won't be found."

"But you found them?"

"It's what we do." I shrugged.

"Well, I'm glad it is." She said, smiling at us. "You'll never know how grateful I am to you for saving my son's life."

Dean nodded. "Of course."

"Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Yeah. I think he'll be fine."

"You know, he's a really good kid. He helped a lot of the other children back at that house." I said.

"Thanks." She nodded, looking between the two of us.

"Dean!" Ben called from the living room.

"Uh, be right back." Dean muttered, heading off into the living room, leaving Lisa and I alone. I tapped my nails on the counter top, looking up at the ceiling.

"Want some coffee?" Lisa asked, holding up the coffee pot.

"Oh, no thanks." I mumbled, watching her slowly lower the pot back to the counter.

"Aright." Lisa nodded, allowing a few seconds of silence to pass. "Can I- can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure."

"You and Dean, you're together, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded quickly. "Why?"

"I mean, you fixed all the issues?"

" _Issues?_ " I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yesterday, when you left-" Lisa started, noticing the uncomfortable look on my face. "I knew you were upset, and I could completely understand why. I mean, really. I get it."

"Well, yeah."

"I was really surprised when you showed up on my doorstep." She chuckled, shaking her head. "You have no idea."

"Why?"

"Well, other than the fact that I hadn't seen or heard from him in eight years and I had no idea you were coming..." She trailed off, raising an eyebrow. "After that weekend I thought Dean would never want to see me again."

"Right. Well, that's Dean. Love 'em and leave 'em." I chuckled awkwardly.

"Right." Lisa nodded. "You know, once I found out you weren't Dean's sister, I actually felt pretty threatened by you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, the way Dean looked at you..." Lisa trailed off, letting out a sigh. "Did he ever tell you what happened that weekend?"

"Okay, I'm cool with you and all, but I do not want to hear any more about that weekend. I already heard enough back then about how bendy-"

"Oh, no. That's not what I meant." Lisa laughed, her cheeks turning red. "It's about something Dean said to me."

"Then what do you mean?" I asked, my interest thoroughly peaked.

"So, it was the last day we were supposed to spend together."

"Yeah?"

"Dean had just gotten finished talking to you on the phone." She said, a grin on her face. "Even in that short time, I knew because whenever he did, he got this really sappy look in his eyes."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You never noticed that?"

"No."

"Well, that night, instead of saying my name during...well, you know..." She smiled. "He said yours."

"Really?" I asked, a huge smile spreading across my lips.

"Yup." Lisa said, sipping her coffee slyly. "Practically shouted it."

"That's great." I said, catching a raised eyebrow from her. "Well, not for you. But it is for me."

"He was so awkward after that, trying to pretend like it didn't happen. But I mean, I told him I understood." She shrugged.

"You _understood_?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I knew how much he loved you."

"What?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"Someone could see it from a mile away, Tori." Lisa smiled. "I'm just glad the two of you finally got together. You seem really happy."

"Yeah." I nodded, tears springing to my eyes as I thought about the years Dean and I have spent together. We didn't have much time left.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I sighed, wiping the tears away. "I'm okay, thanks."

"Alright."

"You know, I'm sorry for being a little bit of a jerk to you. You're not _that_ bad." I smiled.

"Thanks. You're not either." She smiled.

Dean came back in then, pausing in the doorway as he took in the relaxed vibe in the room. "Everything good in here?"

"Yeah." I nodded, glancing over at him with a smile.

"Good." Dean nodded, looking up at Lisa. I knew he wanted to ask her about Ben. I could see it in his eyes. "Lisa?"

"Yeah?"

"Ben."

"What about him?"

"He's not-" Dean paused, glancing over at me before returning his eyes to her. "He's not mine, right?" Lisa practically dropped her cup back on the count, flinging coffee everywhere. "Sorry. I just- I-"

"We need to know." I finished, handing her a few paper towels.

"Oh, wow. What a question." Lisa chuckled nervously. "Um."

"I mean, it's really yes or no at this point." I said, sounding a little more harsh than I intended. "It's been eight years..."

"No. No, he's not yours." Lisa said. I looked up to Dean, seeing a small tinge of disappointment in his eyes.

"You're sure?" Dean asked.

"You're off the hook. I did a blood test when he was a baby. There was this guy – some bar back in a biker joint. I had a type. Leather jacket, couple of scars, no mailing address? I was there." Lisa chuckled. "I was a little wild back then. Before I became a mom. So yeah. You can relax."

"Good." Dean sighed, glancing over at me. I shot him a small smile, looking over to Lisa.

"Well, I think we should be heading out."

"You sure?" She asked. "You can stay a while, if you want."

"We've got a lot of work to do." Dean muttered.

"Okay." Lisa nodded, walking us back out to the front room where Sam was waiting by the door. Ben stood in the doorway of the living room, leaning against the back of the couch.

"Well, Ben, we're heading out." Dean said, crouching down in front of him as he walked over.

"Alright." Ben nodded, giving Dean another hug. I smiled down at him, glancing up to see Lisa looking at them with a grin. Ben broke away from Dean, looking over to me. "Bye."

"Bye, Ben." I said, bending down to give him a hug. "Be good."

"Sure." Ben said, stepping back. "Hey, if things don't work out with Dean, I'll be available in ten years."

"Ben!" Lisa scolded, pulling him in front of her, placing a hand over his mouth as she shot me an apologetic look.

I laughed, shaking my head. "I'll be sure to remember that."

"Thanks again, guys." Lisa smiled, waving to us as we left.

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT**

Once we'd arrived back at the motel, Sam had taken the car out to go get some food for the night, leaving Dean and I alone in the room. I sat down on the bed, watching him go through one of the duffle bags on the counter.

I'd waited what felt like forever to tease him about this, I wasn't missing my chance now that we were alone.

"Lisa told me something." I muttered, swinging my legs.

"What?" Dean asked, glancing back. When he saw the look on my face, he fully turned around, his eyes guarded. "What did she tell you?"

"I think you know."

"What is it?"

"You know."

"What did she say?"

"She just brought up something that you said on the last night you guys spent together."

"Really?" Dean asked, letting out a nervous laugh. He knew. "What?"

"Just a little something about how you shouted my name instead of hers during sex." I shrugged, a grin appearing on my lips.. "You know, the usual."

"Dammit." Dean huffed, his ears turning bright red as he turned back around. "Why'd she have to go and tell you that? Of all the things-"

"Well, I have to be honest..." I muttered. "I didn't exactly mind hearing that you were thinking about me."

"Yeah. Well, it's a little embarrassing" Dean mumbled, flipping a knife in his hand.

"Embarrassing?" I asked. "I think it's great."

"Of course you would."

"You have no idea how awesome that makes me feel." I chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad that makes you happy." Dean said, laughing lightly.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Dean nodded, turning back to face me.

"When Lisa told us that Ben wasn't yours...did that- did that upset you?"

"No, not really." Dean shrugged, looking down. I got up, making my way in front of him.

"Tell me the truth."

"I don't know." Dean sighed, cautiously looking up at me. "I know- I know how much that bothered you, thinking he was mine."

"Only because he wouldn't have been ours." I muttered.

"I know. And to be honest, I'm glad he wasn't mine. Because I wouldn't want to have a kid with somebody else. Even one as great as Ben. If having a kid ever happened, I'd want you to be the mother."

"Yeah?" I smiled.

"Of course." Dean nodded, cradling my face in one of his hands as a mixture of sadness and seriousness flooded into his eyes. "Is that something you want?"

"What?"

"You know, a kid."

"I don't- I don't know." I shrugged.

"Because if that was something you wanted...we have the time to- to do that-"

"Dean, are you saying what I think you are?" I asked, looking up at him with tears in my eyes.

"Kids were never my thing, but having one with you? I don't know, I think I could do it."

"But what about- what about when the years is up?"

"I know." Dean nodded, a sad look in his eyes. "But if that's something you want-"

"No."

"No?" Dean asked, a little shocked by my answer.

"No, Dean." I muttered as the tears started to fall. "I don't- I love you, but I don't want to raise our kid by myself. I don't want to do that without you. And I don't want them to grow up not knowing their amazing father. So, no. I can't do that."

Tears welled up in Dean's eyes as he stared down at me, nodding slowly. "Okay."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be."

"Just- you can't- do you want that?"

"No..." Dean muttered. "I just thought maybe you would."

"Definitely not." I sighed.

"Alright." Dean said, shooting me a small smile as he wiped a tear off my cheek.

The thought of having to be without him already bothered me enough, but the thought of having to take care of our child by myself afterwords on top of that? That was just too hard to imagine.

There was no future for us as far as that goes, there never would be.

* * *

 **I gotta be honest with you guys here...I'm not too sure we'll ever see Lisa again in this story. Like, ever. Needless to say, she's probably my least favorite character ever on SPN. Whoops.**

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!**

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	3. Bad Day at Black Rock

_Like the legend of the phoenix  
All ends with beginnings  
What keeps the planet spinning  
The force from the beginning  
….._

 _The present has no ribbon  
Your gift keeps on giving  
What is this I'm feeling?  
If you wanna leave, I'm with it  
We've come too far to give up who we are  
So let's raise the bar  
…._

 _She's up all night 'til the sun  
I'm up all night to get some  
She's up all night for good fun  
I'm up all night to get lucky  
We're up all night 'til the sun  
We're up all night to get some  
We're up all night for good fun  
We're up all night to get lucky_

 _We're up all night to get lucky_  
 _We're up all night to get lucky_  
 _Up all night to get_  
 _Up all night to get lucky_

 _ **Halestorm – Get Lucky**_

* * *

Currently we were driving down another seemingly endless and abandoned road in the middle of the night. Dean was driving a bit too fast for being the only car out here, but I figured that had quite a bit to do with his anger at the fact that Sam had just revealed to us that he'd been talking to a demon for the past few days. She was the same one that showed up back in Nebraska.

She was following us, which honestly made me really uneasy.

"Because _demon_ , that's why. I mean the second you find out this Ruby chick is a demon you go for the holy water! You don't chat!" Dean exclaimed.

"No one was chatting, Dean." Sam said.

"Oh yeah? Then why didn't you send her ass back to hell?"

"Because she said she might be able to help us out!"

"How?" Dean asked, glancing over at his brother. "No really, Sam, how? How could she possibly help us?"

Sam glanced back at me, swallowing hard before looking back to the road in front of the car. "She told me she could help you out of the crossroads deal, okay."

"What is wrong with you, huh? She's lying, you gotta know that, don't you? She knows what your weakness is – it's me."

"What else- what else did she say?" I asked, gaining an annoyed look from Dean as I leaned forward. I knew demons lied, but what if she really could do something?

"Nothing." Sam shrugged. "Look, I'm not an idiot. I'm not talking about trusting her, I'm talking about using her. I mean we're at war, right? And we don't know jack about the enemy. We don't know where they are, we don't know what they're doing. I mean, hell, we don't know what they want. Now this Ruby girl knows more than we will ever find out on our own. Yes, it's a risk, I know that, but we need to take it."

"Come on-"

"Sam's right."

"What?!" Dean practically shouted, looking back at me.

"Hey, I don't like it anymore than you do, but we could use her."

"You guys are okay right? I mean you're feeling okay?" Dean asked, looking between Sam and I incredulously. The muffled sound of a phone ringing sounded through the car, each of us reaching for our phones. "Not mine."

"It's not mine." Sam muttered, looking back to me.

"Nope." I shrugged.

"Check the glove compartment, it's Dad's."

"Dad's?" Sam asked.

"Yes, I keep it charged up in case any of his old contacts call." Dean said. Sam nodded, opening the glove compartment, pulling out a still ringing phone.

"Hello? Yes...this is Edgar Cayce..." Sam paused and I could hear the man practically shouting on the other end, his voice panicked. "No, don't- don't call the police, I'll handle this myself. Thanks. You know, can you just uh, can you just lock it back up for me? Great. I- I uh, I don't have my- my book in front of me, do you- do you have the address so I can…? Thanks a lot."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Dad ever tell you he kept a container at a storage place?"

"What?" Dean asked.

"Outside of Buffalo?"

"No way."

"Yeah. And someone just broke into it."

* * *

 **BLACK ROCK STORAGE FACILITY – DAY**

The three of us exited the elevator, walking down a large hallway of storage containers until we found John's, unlocking the padlock, sliding the door open to reveal a large room filled with several dust covered shelves and items and a red devil's trap drawn in red paint on the floor.

"Man..." Dean sighed.

"What?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Just Dad. You know him and his secrets. Spend all this time with the guy and it's like we barely even know the man."

"Well, we're about to learn something." Sam shrugged, shining his flashlight inside the container on the trap. "No demons allowed."

"Look." I said, pointing to a few bloody footprints. "There's blood all over the place."

"Check this out." Dean said, holding up a tripwire attached to a shotgun hidden in a large animal skull on one of the bottom shelves.

"Whoever broke in here got tagged." Sam said.

"Dear old Dad." Dean mumbled, a small smile on his face. "I got two sets of boot treads here, looks like it was a two-man job. And our friend with the buckshot in him looks like he kept walking."

"So what's the deal? Dad would do work here or something?"

"Living the high life, as usual." Dean said, shaking his head at the animal skull, laughing lightly.

I made my way a little further inside, picking up a trophy from one of the shelves, wiping the dust off. "Nineteen-ninety-five."

"No way!" Sam exclaimed, coming over to me, looking down at the trophy with a smile. "That's my Division Championship soccer trophy. I can't believe he kept this."

"You played soccer?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah."

"I never knew that."

"It was probably about the closest he ever came to being a boy." Dean commented, a small smile on his face as he wandered over to a bench, picking up a shotgun. "Oh, wow! It's my first sawed-off. I made it myself. Sixth grade."

"You _made_ this?" I asked, taking the gun when he handed it to me, inspecting it. "At eleven?"

"I did." Dean said proudly.

"Impressive." I smiled.

"I can't believe Dad kept this stuff."

"Well, these things were important to him. You are his kids, after all."

"Guys?" Sam called from behind a few shelving units. I put the gun back down, following Dean over to Sam, who was standing in front of another room in the back of the unit, the chain on the door cut and hanging loosely.

"Holy crap. Look at this, he had land mines...which they didn't take. Or the guns." Dean said, shining his flashlight inside the room. "I guess they knew what they were after, huh?"

I made my way into the room, looking over one of the shelves until I found a few boxes inscribed with symbols. "Hey guys, look. This is binding magic. These are curse boxes."

"Curse boxes? They're supposed to keep the evil mojo in, right? Kinda like the Pandora deal?"

"They're built to contain the power of a cursed object, yeah."

"Well Dad's journal did mention a whole bunch of stuff, you know? Dangerous hexed items, fetishes. He never did say where they ended up."

"This must be his toxic waste dump." Sam muttered, looking over the shelf where a clean rectangle, free of dust, sat. "One box is missing...great."

"Maybe they didn't open it."

"If only we could ever be that lucky." I mumbled, looking over to Dean. "How are we gonna find them?"

"This place has to have security cameras."

* * *

 **APARTMENT BUILDING – DAY**

On the security camera's we found a car pulling up in front of the building, their license plate clearly on display. Not too long after that, we tracked the two men to an apartment building with the same car parked out front.

"Connecticut. Last three digits eight-eight-zero." I muttered, glancing down at the license plate.

"Yep, that's it." Sam nodded.

"Should've blacked out their plates before they parked in front of the security camera..." Dean chuckled. We made our way into the apartment building, easily finding the apartment. There were to voices coming from the other side of the door. We broke in, our guns drawn.

"Freeze! Nobody move!" Dean shouted.

"What is this?" Wayne asked, standing to his feet.

"Stop." Sam said, pointing his gun at him.

"Alright, give us the box. And _please_ tell me that you didn't-"

"They did." I said, spotting the open box on the small table in the middle of the room.

"You opened it?!" Dean exclaimed, shoving Wayne against the wall.

"Are you guys cops?" He asked.

"What was in the box?" Dean asked, holding his gun at the man. He swallowed nervously, nodding over to the coffee table where a rabbit's foot sat. "Oh, was that it, huh? It was wasn't it?"

While Dean was distracted, Wayne knocked the gun from his hands. It hit the floor, going off. The bullet ricochets off a radiator, hitting Sam's gun, then mine, causing us to drop them.

Both Sam and I went for one of the guns at the same time as Grossman did. He pushed me back, knocking me into Sam, who then hit Dean, who fell back into the coffee table, breaking it.

"Sorry!" Sam called.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, pushing myself off the ground just as Grossman tackled Sam, sending him flying to the floor, punching him in the face.

Wayne picked up one of the guns and as he stood, pointing it towards me, he hit Dean under the chin, knocking him down again. While he was distracted, I went for Dean's gun, struggling with him, trying to keep the barrel facing away from me as he pulled the trigger, shooting it. The bullet hit into a lamp, shattering it onto the floor.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sam reach for the rabbit's foot as he was being strangled, grabbing it. Almost instantly, he managed to knock Grossman's hands away from his throat, kicking him back into a corner before getting up.

"I got it!"

Wayne pushed me away, taking the gun from my hands, pointing it at Sam. "No you don't."

"No!" I screamed as he pulled the trigger. But nothing happened. The gun jammed.

As he struggled with trying to clear the chamber, Dean and I both got up to stop him. He let out a surprised yelp, stumbling back, tripping over a rug, knocking himself out.

Grossman now had Sam's gun in his hands, standing in front of a bookshelf. Suddenly the books tumbled off, falling onto his head, knocking him out cold. The gun flew out of his hands, and Sam caught it, looking down at it with wide eyes.

"That was a lucky break!" Dean said, pointing down to Sam's hand. "Is that a rabbit's foot?"

"I think it is." Sam muttered, holding it up, inspecting it.

"Alright, we're getting lottery tickets."

* * *

A few minutes later Sam and I were waiting in a parking for Dean, who had gone inside to get some scratch cards.

"I'm not finding anything on it in Dad's journal." Sam muttered, flipping through the book.

"Really?" I asked, leaning over his shoulder. Dean came back then, holding up a few scratch cards in front of Sam.

"Dean, come on."

"What?! Hey, that was my gun he was aiming at your head, and my gun don't jam. So that was a lucky break. Not to mention them taking themselves out, also a lucky break. Here, scratch one. Come on, Sam, scratch and win!" Dean said. Sam scratched the card, staring down at it with wide eyes before handing the card back. "Twelve hundred dollars...you just won twelve hundred dollars!"

Dean let out a laugh, handing Sam another card expectantly. Once Sam had finished all the cards, Dean brought them outside, spreading them out on the hood of them Impala.

"I think I'm gonna call Bobby." I muttered, pulling out my phone.

"Why?" Dean asked, looking up.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "All of this just seems too good to be true. I mean, why would John have that thing locked up in a curse box in the first place if there wasn't a curse attached to it?"

"I don't know, doesn't seem that cursed to me." Dean smiled, glancing down at a couple cards. "Thirteen hundred!"

"Great." I smiled, dialing Bobby's number.

" _Hey Vic._ "

"Hey Bobby..."

" _Oh, no._ "

"What?"

" _What did you three lunk-heads do now?_ "

"What makes you think we did anything?" I asked, slightly offended. "Maybe I'm just calling to see how you are, you old geezer."

" _Fine, then. I'm just preachy, how about you?_ "

I rolled my eyes, letting out a sigh. "Well...did you know anything about John's storage place at Black Rock? And the curse boxes he had?"

" _...yes. Hell, I built those boxes for him._ "

"We didn't know about it."

" _And?_ "

"Well..."

" _Spit it out, girl!_ "

"Someone called John's cell saying there was a break in at the storage unit. We went to the robber's apartment, and, uh, what do you know about lucky rabbit's feet?"

"A l _ucky rabbit's foot? Why?_ " Bobby asked, letting out a huff. " _Tell me you didn't touch it._ "

"Well, _I_ didn't."

" _Then who did?_ "

"Sam..."

" _Dammit!_ " Bobby exclaimed. " _Listen, you have got a serious problem._ "

I glanced back to the boys, seeing Sam picking up a solid gold watch from underneath a newspaper on the ground, showing it to Dean. "Awesome!"

" _That rabbit's foot ain't no dime store notion._ " Bobby continued. " _It's real Hoodoo, Old World stuff. Made by a Baton Rouge conjure woman about a hundred years ago._ "

"Well, that doesn't sound good."

" _You're damn right. She made it to kill people!_ "

"How does it do that?"

" _You touch it, you own it. You own it, sure, you get a run of good luck to beat the devil._ _But, you lose it, that luck turns. It turns so bad that you're dead inside a week._ "

I swallowed hard, pulling in a deep breath. "Then- then we won't lose it."

" _Everybody loses it!_ "

"How do we break the curse?"

" _I don't know if you can._ "

"There's always a way to break a curse."

" _Let me_ _look through my library and make some calls_." Bobby said. " _Just sit tight. Don't do anything stupid and tell Sam to guard that damn thing with his life, or else he's gonna lose it._ "

"The foot or his life?" I asked quietly.

" _Both._ "

"Thanks Bobby." I sighed, hanging up the phone, walking back over to the boys.

"Dude! We're up fifteen grand!" Dean exclaimed, showing me the watch. "Look at this!"

"Yeah, I- I see."

"What'd Bobby say?" Sam asked.

"The foot is cursed."

Sam stared at me with stunned, wide eyes. "W- what?"

"Bobby's looking for a way out of it now. So, just- just don't lose it, okay? If you don't lose it, then you'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say!" Sam exclaimed, patting his jacket pockets worriedly. "Oh, no. Where is it? Where is it!?"

"Sam, Sam!" Dean yelled, stopping him. "You put it in your back pocket."

"Oh, right." Sam sighed, pulling it out, placing it in his jacket pocket.

"Don't worry, Bobby will find a way to break it." Dean said, nodding over to the restaurant near us. "Let's go eat, I'm starving."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Sam, don't worry." Dean said, patting him on the shoulder. I could tell deep down he was worried, but he didn't want Sam to know. The three of us started walking, making our way over to the restaurant. "I say we hit Vegas, pull a little _Rain Man_. You can be _Rain Man_."

"Let's just lay low until Bobby calls back." I said, heading into the restaurant.

"Sounds good to me." Sam sighed, smiling at the waiter in the restaurant. "Hi, uh, table for three please."

"Congratulations!" The man exclaimed.

"It's exciting, I know." Dean mumbled, glancing down at me with an eye roll.

"You are the one millionth guest of the Biggerson's Restaurant family!" The man smiled as an alarm started going off, startling me. Just then, all of the staff crowded around us, shoving a large card in our hands, taking pictures of us as balloons and streamers feel from the ceiling.

I must have looked so confused, furrowing my brow, staring at everyone like they were crazy. I looked up at Sam, seeing an uncomfortable look on his face, then to Dean, seeing him smiling wide.

* * *

In the booth in front of us, Sam sat, staring down at the screen of his laptop, reading up on the rabbit's foot as Dean shoved spoonfuls of ice cream in his mouth. I picked up my spoon, taking a little bit of it.

"Bobby's right. This lore goes way back. Pure Hoodoo. You can't just cut one off any rabbit. Has to be in a cemetery, under a full moon, on a Friday the thirteenth." Sam said.

"I think from now on, we only go to places with Biggerson's." Dean mumbled, pausing mid-spoonful, holding his head. "Oh, shit. Brain-freeze."

"You okay?" I chuckled, resting an arm on his shoulder.

"Can I freshen you up?" The pretty, short black-haired waitress asked Sam, coming over to the table with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah sure. Thanks." Sam nodded. She poured the coffee, spilling some as she smiled at him. The coffee trickled down from the table and onto Sam's lap.

"Oh!"

"Oh, I uh-"

"Let me clean up here." She said, taking a towel, reaching over to pat his jeans.

"Oh my..." I mumbled, hiding my face in Dean's shoulder, not able to stop myself from laughing.

"No, no don't worry." Sam laughed awkwardly. "It's okay, I got it, uh-"

"It's no trouble, really." She smiled.

"Uh, okay."

"Sorry about that."

"It's alright." Sam shrugged, smiling up at her as she finished cleaning the coffee off the table before walking away, looking back at Sam over her shoulder as she went. Both Sam and Dean leaned forward, staring at her butt as she left.

"Boys." I laughed, shaking my head.

"Dude." Dean sighed, shaking his head. "If you were _ever_ gonna get lucky..."

"Shut up." Sam smirked, going to pick up his coffee.

In the process, he managed to knock the cup over, spilling the coffee all over himself. He jumped up, wiping the hot liquid off. Sam turned as a waited with a full tray was walking by, smacking right into him, sending food and plates flying everywhere. Dean and I stared, sharing a wide-eyed look with each other.

"Sorry!" Sam said, looking at the waiter apologetically.

"How was that good?" Dean asked.

"Oh, no." I said. "Sam's please tell me you still have it."

Sam dug around in each of his pockets, coming up empty. "Shit."

"Son of a bitch." Dean huffed, getting out of the seat. I followed along, the three of us rushing out of the restaurant. "Come on!"

As we hurried, I heard a smack behind me, turning around to see Sam laying face down on the ground. "Sam!"

"Wow, you suck!" Dean exclaimed, helping him up.

"Ow..." Sam mumbled.

"So, now your luck turns bad?"

"I guess."

"I wonder how bad?"

"Well, Bobby did tell me." I said.

"How bad?"

"...deathly." I muttered, staring down Sam's knees, which were bloody and raw from scraping them on the ground. "To put it simply, you lose the foot, you lose all your luck. So much so, that you...well, you'll probably die."

"Now you tell us." Sam huffed.

"I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want you to worry." I said, looking over at him. "I didn't think you'd let some girl swipe it from you while she was feeling you up, either."

"She wasn't feeling me up."

"Well, she had to be! She took the damn foot!" I exclaimed. "She was feeling you somewhere!"

"What do we do now?"

"Fine out who the hell she is and get the damn thing back." Dean said, heading over to the Impala. I wrapped an arm around Sam's, leading him back to the car with out any incident.

* * *

 **APARTMENT – DAY**

I made sure to stay back in the doorway with Sam while Dean entered the apartment. Only Grossman remained in the room now, Wayne having apparently died in a _freak accident_ just earlier. I'd be lying if I said that didn't make me worried. I mean, the guy was without the foot for maybe a few hours and died.

"Oh, man." He muttered. "What do you want?"

"Heard about your friend. That's bad luck." Dean said.

"Piss off."

"We know someone hired you to steal the rabbit's foot. A woman."

"Oh yeah? How do you know that?"

"Because she just stole it back from us." I interjected.

Grossman let out a loud laugh, shaking his head. "Oh...wow."

"Listen, jerk, this is serous." I said, stepping into the room, leaving Sam's side for a moment. I heard a footstep behind me, turning to see Sam tripping on a wire, pulling a CD player off a shelf, knocking a lamp off a table as he fell.

"Sam, you okay?" Dean asked calmly, not even turning around.

"Yeah, I'm good." Sam mumbled as I helped him back to his feet, keeping a hand on his arm.

"I want you to tell us her name."

"Screw you." Grossman spat.

"It wasn't a freak accident that killed your partner." I said.

"What?"

"It was the rabbit's foot." Dean added.

"You're crazy, man." He scoffed.

"You know I'm not. You saw what happened, what it did. All the flukes, all the luck. When you lose the foot, that luck goes sour. That's what killed your friend. And my brother here is next. And who knows how many more innocent people after that. Now if you don't help us stop this thing, that puts those deaths on your head." Dean said, staring down at the man as he swallowed hard, looking worried. "Now I can read people, and I get it. You're a thief, and a scumbag, that's fine. But you're not a killer are you?"

He stared up at us with wide eyes, shaking his head. "No."

* * *

After getting the woman's name, we left the apartment, heading back out to the Impala in the dark. As we went, Dean's phone started ringing. He answered it, making sure to avoid a large glob of bubblegum on the ground.

"Hello?" Dean asked, listening. "Bobby, that's uh, great, except Sam- Sam lost the foot."

I walked a little bit ahead of Sam, glancing back back to see him lifting his shoe that was thoroughly stuck in the wad of gum. I went over to him, grabbing onto his calf, trying to pull his foot out of the gun.

"Bobby, Bobby, listen. This hot chick stole it from him." Dean explained. I looked up, rolling my eyes at him, watching him shrug before going back to helping Sam. "I'm serious. In her mid twenty's, and she was sharp you know, good enough at the con to play us."

I huffed, pulling harder, watching a string of bubblegum stretch from the ground to his shoe before snapping off. "Oh, that's disgusting."

"I know." Sam sighed as he went over to a storm drain to try and scrape the rest off his shoe.

"She only gave the guy she hired a name, probably an alias or something." Dean said, looking over at Sam and I. "Uh, Luigi or something?"

"Lugosi." I called.

"Lugosi."

Sam moved his foot a little too vigorously, sending his shoe flying off and into the drain, landing in the water with a plop. "Oh, come on."

"Sam, no." I shook my head, watching him get down on his hands and knees, trying to retrieve it. "Be careful."

"What? Am _I_ gonna fall in?"

"You never know." I said, holding onto the back of his jacket just in case. I felt him lean down, relying a little too heavily on the fact that I was practically holding him up at this point.

" _Bela Lugosi_? That's cute." Dean scoffed. "Well, she knew about the rabbit's foot. Is she a Hunter?"

Suddenly, the zipper on Sam's jacket broke and the whole thing slipped off of him, sending him flying face first to the ground, his jacket now in my hands without him in it. I stared down at the piece of clothing, my mouth hanging open as I glanced back down at him.

"A little help here?" Sam asked from the ground. I quickly shoved the jacket under my arm, dusting off his shirt after helping him back to his feet.

"I guess she's back." Dean muttered, having no clue what was going on over here. "Thanks, Bobby. Again." Dean turned around, furrowing his brow at Sam and I. "What happened?"

"I lost my shoe." Sam mumbled plaintively, wiggling his shoe-less, sock-covered toes. Dean rolled his eyes, turning away with a huff, walking back to the Impala without us.

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT**

"Alright, Bobby, thanks. Hey, we owe ya. Another one." Dean said, pulling up in front of the motel entrance, hanging up. "Bobby's got it on pretty good authority that this Bela chick lives in Queens. So it'll take about two hours to get there."

"So what are we doing here?" Sam asked.

"You, my brother, are staying here 'cause I don't want your bad luck getting us killed." Dean said, getting out of the car.

"Oh, come on."

"Sam, this is for the best." I said, patting him on the shoulder. The three of us headed inside, getting a room, leading Sam into it.

"What am I even supposed to do?" Sam asked.

"Nothing." Dean said, placing a chair in the middle of the room, pulling Sam over to it. "I want you to sit right here and don't move, okay? Don't turn on the light, don't turn off the light. Don't even scratch your nose."

"Maybe I should stay-"

"No, Tori." Sam said, shaking his head. "This Bela girl seems dangerous. You should go with Dean."

"I think I could handle her. I mean, she's just a girl." Dean scoffed, shrugging his shoulders.

I glanced back at him, narrowing my eyes. "What was that?"

"Uh, nothing." Dean muttered quickly, his eyes wide.

"Uh-huh." I nodded, looking back to Sam. "Alright. Just stay safe, please?"

"Sure thing."

"And when we're all done here, I'll buy you a new jacket."

"Thanks." Sam chuckled. I fluffed his hair with my fingers, smiling at him as Dean and I left, heading back out to the Impala.

* * *

 **QUEENS, NEW YORK – MORNING**

After traveling for a couple hours, and doing nothing but worrying about Sam the whole time, Dean and I finally made it to Bela's apartment, heading inside. As we passed by her door, I saw a small security camera mounted out front, quickly moving out of it's sights. I grabbed my lockpick, opening the door as quietly as possible.

Once inside, I saw a few more security camera's scattered around. Dean spotted a post-it note-pad and a pen on one of the counters, heading over to them. I stayed behind him, my gun already drawn as he took a note, writing _turn around_ on it, pasting it to the security panel as it stared beeping

We went down another hallway, heading into the kitchen as the sound of heels clicking echoed through the apartment. Dean went over to the counter where the foot was sitting, just as I was about to try and stop him, he picked it up, shoving it in his pocket.

"Dean!" I hissed, turning towards the doorway hearing Bela walk back, her gun drawn.

"You left without your tip." Dean commented, raising his eyebrows. "Where's the foot?"

" _Foot?_ " She asked in a British accent. "Whatever are you talking about?"

I rolled my eyes, playing along. "You know exactly what we're talking about."

"Do I?"

"Rabbit's foot. At the restaurant."

"Oh, that was _you_?" She laughed. "I didn't notice."

"You're gonna give it back." Dean said.

"Sweetie. No, I'm not."

"Yeah, we'll see. Bela, right?"

"That's right. Dean." She said, glancing over at me. "Victoria."

"You know that things cursed, right?" I asked.

"You'd be surprised what some people would pay for something like that. There's a lucrative market out there. A lot of money to be made." She laughed. "You hunters with all those amulets and talismans you use to stop those big bad monsters. Any one of them could put your children's children through college."

"So you know the truth, about what's really going on out there, and this is what you decide to do with it?" Dean asked. "You become a thief?"

"I procure unique items for a select clientele."

"Yeah." I scoffed. "A _thief._ "

"No, a great thief." She smiled.

"Look Bela, my brother, he touched the foot. And when you took it from him, his luck went from-"

"I know how it works." She said, interrupting him.

"So then you know he's gonna die unless we can destroy it."

"Oh..." Bela mumbled, looking down. "You can have the foot."

"What?" Dean asked, looking surprised. I shook my head, seeing right through her.

"For one point five million."

"Nice. Yeah, I'll just call my banker."

"How did you even find the damn thing?" I asked.

Bela glanced over her shoulder to a Ouija board, looking back to me with a raised eyebrow. "I just asked a few of the ghosts of the people that it killed. They were very attuned into its location."

"Oh, so you're not just a thief. You're a real bitch, too."

"And being a Hunter is so much more noble?" She asked, looking a little offended. "A bunch of obsessed, revenge-driven sociopaths trying to save a world that can't be saved?"

"Well, aren't you a glass half-full?" Dean muttered.

"We're all going to hell, Dean. Might as well enjoy the ride."

"I actually agree with you there."

"Well, this has really been charming, but I think it's time for us to head out." I said.

"Is it? Even without what you came for?"

Dean let out a low chuckle, pulling the foot from his pocket, much to Bela's dismay. "Looks like you're not the only one with sticky fingers. If it's any consolation I think you're a truly _awful_ person."

An angry look crossed Bela's face as she pulled the trigger, firing her gun at Dean. He quickly pushed me behind him as the bullet flew past, getting stuck in the wall. She gritted her teeth, shooting again. This bullet ricocheted around the room, hitting several things, including her Ouija board. Dean held up the rabbit's foot, taunting her.

"Dean, come on!" I said, pushing him towards the door.

"See you!" Dean called as we both made a run for the door, hearing Bela shooting at us multiple times, but none of them hit.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

As the Impala pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a large RV parked near our room door that wasn't there before. From the street, we could see Sam taped to the chair in the middle of the room, with two men near him, one of them holding a gun. We quickly made our way over to the door, keeping quiet as Dean entered.

"It's God, Creedy. He led us here for one reason. To do His work. This...is destiny." The man with the gun muttered, aiming the gun at Sam's forehead.

I cocked my gun, holding it towards the man. "Hold on."

"Put the gun down, or you're gonna be scraping brain off the wall."

"Oh, this thing?" Dean asked, pointing to the gun in my hands.

"Yeah, that thing."

"Okay." Dean said, nodding over to me to place the gun down.

"No." I said, shaking my head.

"Tori, trust me." Dean muttered. I blinked a few times, letting out a sigh as I placed my gun back in the band of my jeans. "You see, there's something about me that you don't know."

"Yeah? What would that be?"

"It's my lucky day." Dean said, throwing a pen towards the man. It lodged itself in the barrel of his gun, getting stuck. "Oh my God, did you see that shot!?"

Creedy lunged at Dean, throwing a punch that he easily avoided by stepping to the side. He ran straight into the wall, hitting the floor, unconscious. The other man stared at the pen in the gun for a moment longer before trying to pull it out. Dean grabbed the remote off the dresser, throwing it at the man, hitting him in the head and knocking him out cold.

"I'm Batman." Dean muttered suavely, glancing back at me.

"Yeah, you are." I smiled, staring down at the two men he'd just taken out with a pen and a TV remote. "Damn."

"I'm amazing!"

"Alright." I mumbled, patting him on the shoulder before going over to Sam, cutting the tape, releasing him from the chair.

"We gotta get rid of that foot." Sam said, standing up.

"What?" Dean asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"It's gotta go." I told him.

"But I'll- I'll take good care of it."

"It's not a puppy, Dean." I laughed. "Everyone's better off if that thing gets destroyed."

"Yeah." Dean nodded, pulling the foot out, staring down at it. "I guess you're right."

* * *

 **CEMETERY – NIGHT**

The boys stood behind me as I crouched down in front of the fire, sprinkling the last bit of bone ash and cayenne powder into the embers.

"Alright. That should do it." I sighed, standing upright.

"One second..." Dean muttered, holding a few more scratch cards in his hands.

Sam shook his head, taking a step towards him. "Dean, you-"

"Hey, back off, Jinx. I'm bringing home the bacon." Dean smirked down at the cards, placing them in his jacket pocket that was slung over one of the gravestones before pulling the foot out. "Alright, say goodbye _wascaly wabbit_."

"I think you'll find that belongs to me. Or, you know, whatever." Bela muttered, cocking a gun behind us. "Put the foot down, honey."

"No. You're not going to shoot anybody. See I happen to be able to read people." Dean said. "Okay, you're a thief, fine, but you're not-"

Bela rolled her eyes, aiming the gun at Sam, shooting him. My eyes widened as Sam fell back against a tombstone, holding his bleeding shoulder.

"You bitch!" I spat, taking a step towards her as Dean helped Sam up.

"Back off, honey. You make one more move and I'll pull the trigger." She said, raising an eyebrow. "See, Dean's got the luck. You, and his brother, on the other hand – I can't miss."

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You don't just go around shooting people like that!" Dean exclaimed.

"Relax. It's a shoulder hit, I can aim. Besides, who here hasn't shot a few people? Put the rabbit's foot on the ground now." She said. I swallowed hard, glancing back at Dean.

"Tori, no." Dean said as I grabbed the foot from his hand, showing it to Bela.

"What are you doing?" She asked as I took a few more steps over to her.

"Giving you the foot. Think fast." I said, quickly throwing it to her.

"Shit!" She exclaimed, staring down at the rabbit's foot in her hand.

"Guess you have no choice but to get rid of it now, huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can't have bad luck in your life of work, I'd assume."

Bela let out a low growl, walking over to the fire, dropping the foot in. "Thanks very much. I'm out one and a half million, and on the bad side of a very powerful, fairly psychotic buyer."

"And somehow, I really don't feel that bad." I shrugged, glancing back to the boys. "You?"

"Nope." Dean said.

"Not even a little." Sam muttered.

"Maybe next time I'll hang you out to dry." She muttered, leaning down on one of the gravestones.

"Aw, don't go away angry." Dean said. "Just go away."

"Have a nice night." Bela smiled, waking away.

After she'd gone, I grabbed a stray piece of fabric from our bag, giving it to Sam to hold pressure against his wound until we could get it taken care of. "You okay?"

"I'll live." Sam sighed.

"I guess we're back to normal now, huh? No good luck, no bad luck. Oh, I forgot we're up $46000! I almost forgot about the scratch tickets." Dean said, heading back over to the fire pit to grab his jacket.

"Dean, come on, we gotta go." I called, checking Sam's wound. It didn't look like the bullet was in there too far, so it shouldn't be much of a problem to get out.

"Yeah, yeah. Did you take my jacket?"

"No." I said, watching as he walked back, an angry look on his face. "What?"

"It's gone." Dean said as the sound of an engine roaring in the distance echoed though the cemetery. I looked up to see Bela driving by, waving her hand out of the window at us.

As if this year wasn't going to be hard enough, now she had to get involved? I can only hope never we have to see her again...as if we'd be that lucky.

* * *

 **Hate Bela, love Maggie.**

 **Also, I choose Get Luck because sometimes you have to get cheesy with it. This is _Supernatural_ , after all ;) **

**Thanks for reading!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction **


	4. Sin City

_Holy water clouds my thinking  
Sinking low now  
Keep on drinking_

… _.._

 _You control me  
Soul you stole, mine  
Wishful thinking  
Six feet under  
Dead by dreaming  
Sleep you steal, mine  
Pools of cold sweat  
Hatred burns me_

 _..._

 _Down you go_  
 _Suffer long_  
 _Down you go_  
 _Sin, make me strong_  
 _Down you go_  
 _Suffer long_  
 _Down you go_  
 _Sin, make me strong_

 _Still shackled to the shadow_  
 _Still shackled to the shadow_  
 _That followed you_

 _ **Stone Temple Pilots – Sin**_

* * *

Once we'd finished up at the graveyard the other night, we headed over to Bobby's, staying here to collect ourselves and let Sam heal a little over a few days. After reading a few troubling headlines on the computer, I headed into the living room where Bobby was working on the Colt at the desk, Dean was melting some metal into bullets and Sam was sitting on the couch, reading, resting his shoulder.

"Hey guys." I called.

"Hey, what's up?" Dean said, looking up.

"Well, I might have found some omens in Ohio."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Dry lightning, barometric-pressure drops."

"Well, that's thrilling."

"I know, right?" I said, sitting down on the couch next to Sam. "Also, some guy killed himself in a church and another went nuts in a local hobby shop before some cops could take him out."

"Could just be a suicide and a psycho scrapbooker." Dean said.

"It's our best lead since Lincoln." Sam interjected.

"Where in Ohio?" Dean asked.

" _Elizabethville_. It's a half-dead factory town in the rust belt." I said.

"There's got to be a demon or two in South Beach." Dean grinned.

"Sorry, maybe next time." I laughed.

"What I wouldn't do to see you in a bikini right now." Dean said, glancing up at me with a wink.

"Well, who said we have to go to South Beach for that?" I asked, leaning over towards him.

"Alright." Bobby grumbled, shaking his head.

"Sorry." I muttered, looking over to the desk to see that the Colt that was still in little pieces. "How's it going?"

"Slow."

" _Slow_? What are you doing over there? Playing with the scraps?" I asked, teasing him. He just shook his head, trying to ignore me.

"I tell you, it's a little sad seeing the Colt like that." Dean said.

Bobby sighed. "Well, the only thing it's good for now is figuring out what makes it tick."

"So what makes it tick?" Sam asked. Bobby glared up at him, clearly not amused. Sam held his hands up, looking back down to the book in his lap.

"So, if we want to go check out these omens in Ohio…you think you can have that thing ready by this afternoon?" Dean asked, poking fun at Bobby.

"Well, it won't kill demons by then." Bobby said, looking up at us with narrowed eyes. "But I can promise you it'll kill all of _you_."

Dean smiled, standing up. "Alright, come on, we're wasting the daylight."

"See you, Bobby." Sam said, pushing himself up off the couch, going over to Dean as they headed towards the door.

"You kids run into anything — anything — you call me." Bobby said, looking up at me.

"Always will." I smiled. "Thanks, Bobby."

"Uh-huh." He mumbled, going back to the Colt as I left the room.

* * *

 **ELIZABETHVILLE, OHIO CHURCH – DAY**

A giant cross sat on top of the giant, white building we walked up to. I turned the boys towards me, making sure their ties were straight before we headed in to speak to the pastor, posing as insurance agents.

"There's not much left for the insurance company. It was a suicide – I saw it myself." He said, a haunted look in his eyes. I nodded, trying to ignore the faint feeling of my stomach churning. I hadn't been feeling that great since Lincoln, being around all those demons, so I just chalked it up to that.

"Well, this shouldn't take long, then." Dean said. Father Gil sighed, leading us over to the site of the suicide.

"That's where Andy did it. It's the first time I'd seen him in weeks. He used to come every Sunday."

"When did he stop?" I asked.

"Probably about two months ago? Right around the time everything else started to change."

"Change?"

"Oh, let's just say this used to be a town you could be proud of. People cared about each other. Andy sang in the choir, and then one day, he just wasn't Andy anymore. It was like he was-"

"Possessed?" Sam interjected.

"You could say that." Father Gil nodded a little uncomfortably. "Gambled away his money, cheated on his wife, destroyed his business. Like a switch had flipped."

"Father, did you know the man who killed those folks in the hobby shop?"

"Sure, Tony Perkins. He was a good man."

"Would you say that his personality suddenly changed one day, too?"

"I never thought about it that way, but...yes. About the same time as Andy — about two months ago."

"Well, thank you, Father. We appreciate your time." Dean said.

"Two months ago, we open up the devil's gate, all of a sudden this town turns into Margaritaville? It's no coincidence." Sam muttered quietly as we left.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

Back at the motel, Dean unlocked the door, pushing it open to reveal a normal looking room, except for the large mirrors up on the ceiling.

"Would you look at that." Dean chuckled, glancing down at me. "Hey-"

"I know. We'd get pretty good use out of those things." I nodded, smiling up at him. "I agree."

"You guys are gross." Sam mumbled, shaking his head.

Just as we were about to enter the room, the door across the hall from ours opened up. A man I recognized immediately stood there, staring over at me. I nearly let out an annoyed groan just from seeing him, but somehow kept it in, rolling my eyes instead.

"Richie." Dean called. "I don't believe it."

"Hey, Dean...Winchester, right?" He asked, glancing over to Dean as a barely dressed girl appeared by Richie's side, leaning on the door frame. "This is my sister, uh, Cheryl."

"Hey." She smiled.

"There." Richie muttered, handing her a few bills, watching her butt as she walked away.

"Sister?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you know...stepsister." He shrugged.

"Oh, you are still as disgusting as ever." I mumbled.

"What?" He asked, not hearing me.

"Nothing."

"Hey, come on in." Dean smiled, moving out of the way for him to enter out room.

"Dean, no." I hissed, smacking his arm. "He's already giving me a migraine."

"I'm sure he found something, I'm just gonna ask him." Dean said, turning back to him. "This is my brother, Sam."

"Hey. How you doing?" Richie smiled.

"Not too bad." Sam shrugged.

"And you remember Tori." Dean said.

"How could I forget." Richie grinned, looking between Dean and I. "So, you guys still, uh, bumping uglies?"

"Hey. Watch it." Dean snapped, narrowing his eyes at him as I froze. I'm not quite sure why I was shocked by him, knowing how he was.

"Okay, okay. That's still your lady. I get it." Richie said, holding his hands up. "Glad to see you two are still going strong."

"Just shut up, Richie." I said, shaking my head.

"I'm kind of afraid to ask, but how do you guys know each other?" Sam asked.

"You were in school." Dean explained.

"It was that succubus, in Canarsie right?" Richie asked, glancing over at him.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Oh, man. You should have seen the rack on this broad." Richie said, a huge smile on his face as he gestured in front of his chest with his open hands. "I mean, these sweater puppies. Woo! Fuckin' tragedy when I had to gank her."

"Whoa. Wait. Wait a minute." Dean interjected. "Who killed her? If I remember, your ass was toast until I showed up."

"Oh, I forgot what a comedian this guy was." Richie laughed.

"Actually, not to burst your little testosterone filled bubbles, but I was the one who did it. Just saying." I said, raising a challenging eyebrow. Sam glanced over at me, trying not to laugh at the looks on their faces.

"Oh." Dean mumbled, blinking a few times. "Oh, yeah. That's right. You did."

"Like it really matters who killed her, anyway." Richie shrugged, waiving it off.

"Right." I nodded.

"Know what, Richie? I told you then and I'll tell you again, you're not cut out for this job. You're gonna get yourself killed." Dean said.

"If only the word could be that fortunate." I mumbled. Richie ignored us, answering his ringing phone.

"Talk to me?" He paused, looking back to me, covering the receiver. "FYI, _Sweetcakes_ – words hurt."

"Yeah? So does my fist." I snapped, taking a step towards him. Dean quickly grabbed my arms, holding me back. "Call me that one more time, I dare you."

Richie cowered back a little, taking his hand off the phone. "It's not a good time, babe. Later."

"Let me go, Dean."

"Only if you promise not to hit anybody."

"I promise." I sighed, shaking my arms out of his grasp.

"So you find anything in this town, anyway?" Dean asked as Richie hung up.

"Ah, no. I got nothing." He said, a thought coming into his head. "Oh, wait a minute. You mean as in demons and whatnot?"

"Well, yeah." Dean said obviously. I rolled my eyes, glancing up at Sam with an exasperated look.

"No, I got nothing."

"Typical. What about your _sister_ back there?"

"Oh, honestly? She definitely had the devil in her, but she wasn't no demon, you know what I'm saying?" Richie laughed, his smile fading when he noticed our reactions – or lack thereof. "Right. Seriously. Church guy, hobby-shop guy — they were lunch meat by the time I got there. Maybe they were possessed, but I can't prove it."

"Yeah, that's where we are, too." Sam said. "You know, let's just say that demons are possessing people in this town. You know, raising hell-"

"Yeah, but why would a demon blow his brains out?" Dean asked.

"What else do demons do best other than torture?" I asked. "Probably just to kill for the sake of killing."

"Like taking a car for a joyride." Richie nodded along.

"Shut up."

"Anybody else left in the town that fits the profile — you know, nice guy turned douche, still breathing?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow when Richie didn't respond. "Hello?"

"She told me to shut up!"

"Oh, honestly." I muttered. "Talk."

"Well, there's Trotter."

"Who's that?" Sam asked.

"Well, he used to be head of the Rotary Club. And then people say he turned bastard all of a sudden. Brought in the gambling, the hookers. He practically owns this whole town."

"Know where we could find him?"

"Oh, he'll be at his bar in a few hours."

"Great." I nodded, pointing to the door. "Get out."

"Good idea, I gotta go get changed if I'm going there-"

"No. You are not coming with us."

"Hey, I gave you the lead. I get to go." He argued. I huffed, glancing back at Sam and Dean, seeing them nod. I turned back to Richie, narrowing my eyes.

* * *

 **BAR – DAY**

The small town all seemed to collect around here, a bunch of people mulling around with cocktails in their hands, drunk off their asses.

"I thought you said this was some boarded-up factory town." Dean said, looking over at me.

"Well, it's supposed to be."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do some research." Dean smiled watching a group of attractive, skimpily dressed women pass by. In one of the opened cars, a woman in a tight tank top and mini skirt eyed him, gesturing for him to go over to her.

I glared at her, pushing Dean around to my other side, out of her view, to enter the bar. "Come on."

Dean walked ahead of us, moving through the large crowd of drunk, dancing people. I glanced behind me, seeing an extremely awkward look on Sam's face as he pushed around and bumped into.

We just about made it to the other side of the crowd when I felt someone brush up against me, I turned around, letting out an annoyed huff when I saw Richie standing there, dressed in bright orange satin shirt that was halfway unbuttoned, revealing a white t-shirt underneath it.

"Oh, Jesus." I muttered, shaking my head.

"Richie. Look at you." Dean said, shaking his hand. "Bringing satin back."

"Oh, you like this? Try Thai silk — Canal Street. You'd have to pay three hundred for threads like these, easy. Cost to me — _fuggedaboutit_."

"How much is _forget about it_?" Sam asked, a small smile on his face.

"Ah, forget about it." Richie shrugged, pointing over to a man. "That's Trotter over there. He sits there all night. Can't touch him."

"So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna do a little investigating with that bartender." Dean said, grinning over at the attractive brunette.

"Easy. Me and her, we got a little somethin'-somethin' lined up for later." Richie muttered.

"Yeah, right." Dean scoffed.

"Stings, don't it? Alright, I got to hit the head, release the hostages. Be back in a few." Richie said, leaving.

"No way he gets a girl like that. I mean, look at her."

"No way in hell. Unless she's desperate. Though I don't see how anyone could ever get _that_ desperate." I mumbled, glancing up at him. "Alright, stop looking."

"What?" Dean asked innocently, letting the facade drop when I kept my eyes trained on him. "Sorry."

"Uh-huh."

"Really though, come on. You could bounce a quarter off that ass."

"Well..." I shrugged, not exactly able to disagree.

"You think so?" Father Gil asked, waking up to us.

"Oh." Dean turned, laughing awkwardly. "Sorry, Padre."

"No offense, but what on earth are you doing here, Father?" I asked.

"Like it or not, you go where your flock is."

"Plus, the clergy drinks for free." The bartender smiled, making her way over to us as she poured a drink for Father Gil. I raised an eyebrow, watching him sip it.

"True, and a certain bartender owes me a confession."

"Not in this lifetime, Father."

"I better see your butt on Sunday." Father Gil said, glancing back at Dean and he moved to walk away. "Quarter or not."

I smiled as Dean chuckled awkwardly, glancing back to me. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" I asked innocently. "You deserved that."

"Yeah, I guess." Dean shrugged. I turned towards the bar, feeling Dean pull me flush against him by my hips. "You know your butt is my favorite one."

"Hmm." I sighed, leaning into his touch. "How romantic."

"What can I get you?" The bartender asked, staring at Dean and I with a lustful smirk. My stomach churned as my eyes caught hers, and I immediately felt uncomfortable.

"What's your specialty?" Dean asked, pulling away from me to sit at the bar. I held onto the edge of it for support as my stomach flopped, glancing around the room for anyone that looked suspicious.

"I make a mean hurricane."

"I guess we'll see about that."

"You drink hurricanes?" Sam asked, laughing.

"I do now." Dean shrugged, noticing how I was acting. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I don't feel that great." I said, taking his hand as he helped me onto a stool.

"Why?" Dean asked, lowering his voice as he leaned in. "Like in a _demon-sense-y_ kind of way?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Shit. I wonder who it is?"

"I don't know."

"You okay, sweetie?" The bartender asked, pushing a drink in front of me.

"Oh, uh, I'm fine." I mumbled, chugging the drink without thinking.

"Hey." Sam called, nudging my arm, gesturing to a man across the bar by a pool table with a gun.

Without warning, he raised it, shooting another man point-blank in the forehead. The crowed erupted in chaos, everyone started screaming and running around. In the panic, the three of us shoved our way across the bar.

Just as the man raised the gun to his head, Dean tackled him to the ground, causing the gun to go flying across the floor. I stood over it to make sure no one else got any ideas as Sam grabbed a flask of holy water, splashing it on the man.

"What are you doing?!" The man shouted, not being affected by the water at all. "He slept with my wife. That bastard slept with my wife!"

"Somebody call nine-one-one!" Sam shouted.

Not too long later a bunch of police were mulling around, a couple of them leading the man out of the bar in handcuffs, pushing him into the back of a police car.

"There are too many cops here." Sam said quietly. "I say we roll."

"Just be cool." Dean said, watching the police car driving away. "Poor jerk. Only thing possessing him was a sixer of Pabst."

"So, what's the deal, then? People in this town getting possessed or not?"

"I don't know. Tori had her demon-sense go off."

"But if it wasn't that guy, then who is it?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it is just what it is — a town full of scumbags." Dean shrugged. "Maybe you just aren't feeling well."

"Maybe. I feel fine now."

"You kids ready for your mug shots?" A cop asked, walking over to us. I swallowed nervously, glancing up at Sam and Dean. "The photographer's gonna be here in a few to take your picture for the local paper."

"That'd be an honor, Officer. What a thrill!" Dean exclaimed, faking excitement until the cop walked away.

"Yup, time to go." Sam said.

"Wait a second. Where's Richie?"

"Eh, who cares?" I asked.

"Tori."

"I'm sure he's fine. We can look for him later, after the cops leave." I said, looking up at Dean with a smirk. "Plus, I really think I want to check out those mirrors."

"Oh, god." Sam complained, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, yeah?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Sammy you wouldn't mind going to, I don't know, wherever nerds like to go, for a little while?"

" _Where nerds like to go_?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"Fine." Sam huffed, shaking his head as he left the bar.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

We'd barely even gotten inside the room before we started kissing each other, my arms wrapped around his neck as he pushed me up against the shut door, running his hands down the sides of my body. He practically ripped my jacket off, lifting my shirt up over my head, throwing it and the jacket into the beginnings of a pile of clothes on the floor, bending down to kiss me again.

I pulled his jacket and shirt off, throwing them down to the floor before sliding my hands over his shoulders as he unclasped my bra and threw it with the other clothes. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he picked me up, carrying me over to the bed, his lips never leaving mine until he pulled back, smiling down at me.

"What?" I asked, looking up into his eyes.

"You're beautiful, you know that?"

"You don't have to flatter me, you're already getting in my pants." I teased as he grinned, slowly kissing down my body until he got to my jeans, unbuttoning them and slipping them off.

"I mean it." Dean mumbled against my stomach.

"So are you." I sighed, staring down at him with a smile. "You could go a little lower, you know."

"Nah."

"Aw, come on. What does a girl have to do?" I asked, leaning up on my elbows.

"Well, if you're asking-"

"Dean." I mumbled, watching him smirk before ducking in between my legs.

I let out a low moan, laying back on the bed with my eyes closed. I could feel the release bubbling up inside me when he stopped, hovering over me, kissing my lips. I pushed him over on his back, pulling his jeans off, crawling back up his body, straddling his hips, the both of us moaning in pleasure at the contact.

"Damn, I could get used to this." Dean muttered, his hands on my moving hips as he stared up at the ceiling. I smiled down at him, glancing up at the mirror.

"Me too."

* * *

Afterwords, I could barely keep my eyes open, that same blissful feeling completely taking over me as I laid on Dean, my chin resting on his bare chest.

"I say we bring a mirror with us and hang it up in every room." He muttered, still looking up at our reflection in the mirror as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"I could live with that." I sighed. "I love you."

"Yeah." Dean nodded, smiling down at me as he kissed my lips, showing me how much he loved me without saying the words. "Know what I could really go for right now?"

"Round three?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well, _that..._ and a burger."

"You know, that actually sounds pretty good."

"Round three first." Dean said, gently pushing me on my back as he hovered over me.

* * *

 **BAR – DAY**

Back at the bar, I grabbed the two beers from the male bartender, making my way back over to the table, placing them down before sitting in front of Dean, who was staring down at his phone, completely ignoring the giant burger in front of him.

"Babe, you do realize there's red meat within striking distance, right?"

"How many times I got to tell Richie, he's gonna get himself in trouble?" Dean asked, glancing up at me.

"He didn't answer again?"

"Nope."

"I'm sure he's okay. Maybe he's locked up in a room somewhere with a bunch of hookers."

"Like he wouldn't answer my call to let me hear that." Dean said, a grimace on his face.

"True." I nodded. "Maybe he left?"

"He's a moron. I mean, he's a sweet moron, but he's not a coward. He wouldn't just bail."

"What should we do then?" I asked, taking a sip of my drink.

"I got to go find him."

"I guess." I shrugged.

"Come on, the guy's annoying but you don't really want anything bad to happen to him."

"No. I don't." I said honestly. "Hey, did you call Sam?"

"No."

"Alright. I will." I said, fishing my phone out of my pocket, dialing Sam's number.

" _Tori?_ " Sam answered in a hushed tone.

"What's the matter?"

" _I'm outside Trotter's office._ "

"Why are you there?"

" _Something about the way he looked at me last night._ "

"What does that mean? That can be taken in a really different way that what I assume you mean, Sam." I joked.

" _Tori, not now. I can't talk. Listen, just meet me at the bar in twenty minutes, okay?_ " Sam said, hanging up before I got the chance to answer.

"Sam." I called, looking at the phone to see that the call had ended.

"What happened?" Dean asked.

"Sam's trying to find that Trotter guy. He thinks there's something weird going on with him."

"Well, we never did find the demon you sensed earlier."

"I thought you thought that was just a fluke?"

Dean shrugged. "Never know."

"Well, Sam said to meet him at the bar in twenty." I sighed, putting my phone away. "I think one of us should go with him."

"Alright. Why don't you go and I'll try to find Richie?"

"Sounds good." I nodded, standing up. "Meet back here in twenty?"

"Sure." Dean said, looking up at me. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will." I said, seeing the brunette bartender staring at us again out of the corner of my eye. I smiled down at Dean, leaning in to place a lingering kiss on his lips. "You too."

"Uh-huh." Dean mumbled, staring after me with half closed eyes. I had to admit, I felt a little proud to be able to daze him like that with just a kiss.

* * *

DPOV 

After Tori left, I discarded the food, making my way out of the bar to the address where I'd tracked Richie's phone to be. When I got there, I broke into the house, finding him lying on the ground dead, his neck broken.

"Oh, man." I sighed, shaking my head as I looked one of the tables I found a picture of the bartender, a small amount of yellow dust near, knowing immediately what it was. Sulfur.

It was then that I realized that this morning Tori didn't start feeling sick until she was around her...

She's a demon.

* * *

By the time I'd done what I felt needed to be done for Richie, I headed back to the bar, glad to see the same bartender still working there.

"What can I get you?" She asked, smiling at me.

"Beer."

"Alright." She nodded, turning around, bending down to get it.

"I got to tell you, every woman in this place? They want to eat you up." A woman muttered, walking over to me.

"Well, hey. Anybody could have tackled that guy...and wrestled the gun away…prevented mass murder." I shrugged, playing it off like it was no big deal.

"Here's what I'm gonna do. Normally, I charge four hundred a night." She said, whispering in my ear. "Why don't we call it an even deuce and get the hell out of here?"

"What do I look like?" I asked incredulously, leaning back.

"What do _I_ look like?" She asked, walking away. "Cheapskate."

"Did I just see you strike out with a prostitute?" The bartender laughed. "How's that work?"

"Well, I just told her I had a thing for the bartender." I smiled. "It was pretty easy."

"Who says the bartender's available?"

"That's a good question. You got something going with some guy, you know, about yea tall, wears a sweatsuit…?" I asked.

"Who?"

"My mistake." I muttered, watching as she leaned down on the bar suggestively. "So, what do you say you and me grab a drink after your shift?"

"I say why wait...when we can go right now?"

* * *

 **TROTTER'S OFFICE – DAY  
** TPOV

Once I got to the building, I snuck around back, finding a door cracked open, probably from Sam. I entered, turning down a couple hallways until I found Sam, inside the office, sifting through the stuff on the desk I quietly made my way up behind him. When he sensed someone was there, he swung around, nearly punching me in the face.

"Dude!" I exclaimed quietly, ducking out of the range of his fist.

"Tori!? Jesus! What are you doing here?"

"Trying to help you."

"Big help." A huge guy muttered, walking in the room. He threw a punch at Sam, who blocked it, punching him repeatedly. Just then, Trotter walked in, armed with a gun. I quickly pulled mine out, aiming it at him.

"What are you doing here?" Trotter asked, pointing his gun at me.

"I think maybe you know." Sam said.

"Yeah? Well, I think I'm calling the cops!"

"Cops?"

"Breaking and entering, assault." Trotter said, looking between Sam and I. "You two are in a peck of trouble.

"Uh, wh- uh...I think I could probably explain it." Sam said, suddenly twisting around, grabbing the gun from Trotter, pointing it at him. The big dude was just about to try and stop him when I moved around the front of the desk, my gun trained on him.

"Money's in the safe! Take it and go." Trotter said, holding his hands up.

"I don't want your money. I just got to be sure." Sam said, splashing them both with holy water. They flinched from the sudden coldness of the water, but there was no sizzle. Nothing.

"What kind of psycho are you?"

"Oh, god." Sam muttered, glancing back at me with an embarrassed look. "Uh... I'm sorry."

"I think this was just a- a minor misunderstanding." I said, putting my gun away with a nervous smile.

"How 'bout we just- just leave. I'll take these." Sam said, removing the bullets from the gun, placing it down. "And I- I'll leave this for you."

Sam smiled awkwardly, backing up towards me as I walked forward towards him. The two of us clashed together with an uncomfortable laugh, holding onto each other to keep ourselves upright as the men stared on in confusion.

"Well, goodbye." I smiled.

"Have a nice day?" Sam said, the two of us walking quickly out of the office, leaving the two men staring at us in bewilderment.

"I swear, I'm never doing anything again if we're going off one of your hunches."

"You know, I think I agree with that." Sam mumbled.

* * *

 **CASEY'S HOUSE – NIGHT  
** DPOV

Casey led me into her house and down into the basement, stopping inside the room where I'd found Richie, looking around suspiciously before turning back to me.

"You know, it's a real shame your girlfriend couldn't be here, too."

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?"

"'Cause she's beautiful." Casey said, letting out a sigh as she made her way over to me. "Would've been nice to have her company, too. If you know what I mean."

"Oh uh, yeah." I nodded, staring down at her as she smiled suggestively. She stood up on her toes, moving to kiss me when I placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing her away. "You know, I forgot to mention. Richie was a friend of mine. When I realized I could track the GPS in his cellphone, I swung by earlier. Give him a proper burial. It's better than rotting in some skank's basement."

Casey let out a low growl, launching herself out me. I jumped back as she froze, stopped by the devil's trap underneath the rug.

"Oops. Isn't that a buzz kill?" I knelt down, showing her the corner of the trap. "Sorry, sister, but you're going back to where you came from."

"I don't think so." Casey laughed.

I pulled out the book, begining to read the exorcism. " _Spiritus immunde, undolara. Pasonitote_..."

"Uh-uh." Casey mumbled, closing her eyes. A sudden breeze blew through the room, spinning the chandelier above her.

" _Spiritus immunde, undo-_ "

Just then, the pages from the book were torn off by the strong breeze. I glanced down, seeing the book fly out of my hands across the room where a large crack formed, dropping the book inside. Hearing a loud noise, I glanced behind me, seeing the bricks around the door cave in, blocking it.

Casey let out a laugh, calling my attention back to her. "What are you laughing at, bitch? You're still trapped."

"So are you... _bitch_." She spat. I ignored her, going over to a few of the candles, relighting them to examine the rockfall. "Lose something?"

"All you demons have such smart mouths."

"It's a gift."

"Yeah, well. Let's see if you're smiling when I send your ass back to hell."

"Without your little exorcism book? Hey, go ahead."

I turned back to her, a confident look on my face. " _Spiritus immunde ...un, guh.._."

"Having a little trouble there, sport?" She asked tauntingly.

" _Spiritus immunde, undolare, Pasonitote_." I paused, pulling in a deep breath when I forgot the rest. How the hell does Tori just rattle this damn thing off?

"Nice try, but I think you just ordered a pizza." She smiled sarcastically. "Guess you should have paid more attention in Latin class."

"Hey, I don't know what you're smiling about. You're not going anywhere."

"And, apparently, neither are you."

"Yeah, but I got somebody coming for me, and, uh, she did pay attention in class."

"Oh, right. Tori. Everyone says she's the brains of the outfit. Even smarter than little Sammy boy."

"Everyone?" I asked, a little surprised.

"Sure. You Winchester's are famous. Not _Lohan_ famous, but, you know..." She shrugged.

"Well, that's...flattering. I'll be sure to let them know when they get here."

"If they shows up first." She said, raising an eyebrow at the look on my face. "What, you thought I was flying solo? You shouldn't underestimate, Dean, it might be the death of you. The fact remains, we just have to wait and see who shows up first. The cavalry...or the Indians."

* * *

 **BAR – NIGHT  
** TPOV

When we got back to the bar, I was surprised, and a little worried to not see Dean waiting for us there. I couldn't imagine where he would be or that finding Richie would take him that long.

"Well, we can just wait for him." Sam shrugged, sitting at a stool.

"He's looking for Richie."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure he'll show up."

"Yeah." I sighed, tapping my fingers on the top of the counter as the bartender came over.

"What can I get you two?" He asked.

"Nothing for me, thanks." Sam smiled.

"Whiskey."

"Tori?"

"What?" I asked, glancing up at him.

"Sh-"Sam stopped, interrupted by a skimpily dressed woman sauntering over, leaning down next to him.

"You look kind of tense." She muttered. Sam glanced around the room, checking to see if she was really speaking to him. "You know, I know a surefire way to relax."

"Maybe later."

"Come on, sweetie."

"Hey, leave him alone, would you?" I said, looking over at her.

"What are you, his girlfriend?"

"If that'll make you go away, then yes."

"Watch out honey. That girl was here with another man not too long ago." She told Sam, patting him on the shoulder before leaving.

"Tori?" Sam gasped, feigning hurt. "How dare you?"

"I just couldn't stop myself." I grinned. "He was really, really hot."

"Okay-"

"Like really hot. And sexy."

"Right-"

"And my god, if that wasn't the best sex I've ever had." I muttered, fanning myself as the bartender stared over at us strangely. "I mean, he has such a big c-"

"Tori!" Sam exclaimed, looking over at me with wide, horrified eyes. "I swear, if you finish that sentence."

"What? I was talking about his _car_." I smirked. Sam rolled his eyes, calling the bartender over.

He stepped in front of us, looking over in question. "Yeah?"

"Hi. Um, you remember the guy we were with last night? We sat right here."

"The big hero who jumped on Reggie."

"Yeah, the _big_ hero." I nodded, emphasizing the word _big_ just to torture Sam some more.

"Have you seen him around at all today?" Sam asked, trying to ignore me.

"Maybe. Depends." The guy muttered, glancing down at my chest.

"Dude, I'm so not gonna flash you." I snapped.

"Here." Sam said, waving some money in front of him. "That should be good enough."

"Not as good as those-" He said, glancing back down to my chest. "But it'll do. He left with Casey about an hour ago."

"He did?" I asked, feeling a little confused about that. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but what the hell would he leave with her for?

"Any idea where they went?" Sam asked.

"Her place... for Bible study." The bartender said.

"Bible study." I scoffed.

"You got an address?"

"What's wrong with you? You think I'm gonna give you a co-worker's address, just so you two can go over there and get your freaky peeping-tom rocks off?" He asked. Sam rolled his eyes, passing him some more money. "Corner of Piermont and Clinton. Have fun."

* * *

 **CASEY'S HOUSE – NIGHT  
** DPOV

After walking around the room for a bit holding the phone up to try and get a signal, I realized it wasn't going to happen, and gave up with a huff.

"Why don't you relax?" Casey asked.

"Why don't you kiss my ass?"

"Why, Dean, you're a poet. I had no idea. Look, we won't have any effect on the outcome of this. We might as well be civil."

"Civil, huh? Killing Richie, that was- that was civil? The guy was harmless."

"That knife he pulled on me didn't look so harmless."

"A knife wouldn't hurt you."

"No, but it would damage this body." She said, running a hand over her chest. "And Casey has such a fine body, I wouldn't want to see it ripped."

"A demon with a heart. Wow." I scoffed, shaking my head. "Well, you know, there's a bunch of dead people in town that might disagree with you."

"Hey, I didn't pull any triggers."

"Yeah? You did something."

"You want to know what I did? What I really did? I had lunch."

"Lunch?" I asked incredulously.

"Me and Trotter. He had a cheeseburger, I had a salad, and I just pointed out the money that could be made with a few businesses that cater to harmless vice. So Trotter built it, and man, did they come. Supposedly God-fearing folk, waist-deep in booze, sex, gambling. I barely lifted a finger."

"That's it?"

"You don't get it. All you got to do is nudge humans in the right direction. Some whiskey here, a hooker there, and they'll walk right into hell with big, fat smiles on their faces. Your kind is corrupt, Dean. Weak." Casey muttered. "Our will's stronger. That's why we'll win."

"And that's how it ends?"

"No." She smiled. "That's how it begins."

"So, demons take over. I thought the meek shall inherit the earth."

"Oh, according to your Bible. It's only a book, Dean."

"Not everyone would agree."

"Because it's God's book?" She asked. "Do you believe in God, Dean? I'd be surprised if you did."

"I don't know." I muttered, looking down. "I'd like to."

"Well, I don't see how you and your God, have done such a bang-up job. War, genocide. It's only getting worse. I mean, this past century, you people racked up a body count that amazed even us." She said. "It's our turn now, and we're gonna do it right this time."

I heard a noise coming from above us, looking up towards the grate.

"Don't be hopeful, Dean. You're not delivered. It's only the wind."

* * *

TPOV

I didn't want to waste time knocking on the door, I really just wanted to bust in. But Sam had made a good point, what if I saw something I didn't really want to? So instead, I let him knock on the door. As soon as he touched it, it swung open.

We shared a surprised look, heading inside. Not even a second after I stepped foot into the house, I felt my stomach flop.

"Oh, god." I mumbled, placing a hand on my stomach.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, looking back to me from a picture of the female bartender with some guy.

"I don't feel good." I said, glancing up at him. "Something's wrong."

"Is it your demon-sense?"

"Yes." I nodded, narrowing my eyes at him. "And don't call it that!"

Sam turned back around, touching some powder on top of the table, lifting it to his nose. "Sulfur."

On our way out of the house, I decided to call Bobby to try and see if he could help us out with anything, but his voicemail picked up.

"Hey, Bobby. We have a big problem here. Sam found some sulfur and we can't find Dean. Please call me as soon as you get this." I said, shutting the phone. "What now?"

"Maybe we can head back to the bar."

"I hope Dean's okay." I sighed.

"Me too."

* * *

DPOV 

"You know, you're piling it pretty high there, sweetheart. I'm not sure I'm buying." I shrugged.

"Why would I lie?" Casey asked.

"Demons lie."

"Some do. Some are true believers."

"Believers in what?"

"What, you think humans have an exclusive on a higher power?"

"You have a god?" I asked, surprised.

"Sure." She nodded. "His name's Lucifer."

"You mean the Devil?"

"Your word, not ours. Lucifer actually means _light bringer_. Look it up." She said. "Once he was the most beautiful of all God's angels, but God demanded that he bow down before man, and when he refused, God banished him. Tell me, Dean. How do you like bowing before lesser creatures?"

"Lucifer's really real?" I asked, not able to get over that fact.

"Well, no one's actually seen him, but they say that he made us into what we are, and they say that he'll return."

"Oh, yeah? And, uh, you believe that?"

"I've got faith." She said. "So, you see? Is my kind really all that different than yours?"

"Well, except that, uh, demons are evil."

"…and humans are such a lovable bunch. _Dick Cheney_."

"He one of yours?"

"Not yet. Let's just say he's got a parking spot reserved for him downstairs." She smiled. I let out a laugh, shaking my head.

"Hey, speaking of downstairs...what's it like down there?" I asked, a little nervous to find out.

"What, hell?"

"Yeah."

"That's right. You booked a one-way ticket with that deal." She said. "You're not gonna like it, Dean. And, um, judging from the trouble you've caused, I don't think you'll be getting the presidential suite. It's a pit of despair. Why do you think we want to come here?"

I'd be lying if I said her answer didn't scare me a little. So instead of saying anything more, I glanced down to the ground, hoping Sam and Tori would get here soon.

* * *

 **BAR – NIGHT**

Sam and I entered the bar, shoving through a few groups of people to get back to the bartender, who was wiping down the counter top.

"Hey, excuse me. Um, they weren't there." Sam announced.

"I guess you got to catch your jollies another night." He grinned, pouring a coupe shots. "Here. Why don't you have a drink and relax?"

"I don't want to relax!" Sam exclaimed, shaking his head. "What is it with the people in this town?"

"Suit yourself, princess." He mumbled, drinking both shots.

Sam nudged me, nodding over to Father Gil, who was sitting over in one of the booths. "Should we go talk to him?"

"I guess." I shrugged, following Sam over to the table.

"Father."

"Yes?" He asked, looking up at us in surprise.

"Um...can we- can we talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure." He nodded. Sam slid into the booth in front of him, leaving space for me to sit next to him. I breathed in through my nose, trying to stomp down the uncomfortable nauseous feeling inside.

"So, the bartender from the other night, Casey? You know her pretty well?" I asked.

"Since she was in pigtails." He said, noticing how I was breathing. "Are you alright."

"Oh, I'm fine." I nodded, smiling at him.

Sam glanced down at me, knowing what this meant. "So, um, Casey and my brother, they, uh...they... left tonight. Together."

"Ah." Father Gil nodded. "Well, not that I approve, but they are consenting adults."

"Right."

"I'm sorry. You said _brother_. I thought you were insurance investigators?"

"Right, right. Well, we are. It's like- it's like a family business, you know?" Sam said. "Anyways, so we went to Casey's house, and they weren't there. I just have this feeling that they- that they might be in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Just trouble." I said, probably a little more harshly than intended. "Please, Father, we need your help. Is there something you could tell us about Casey? Somewhere that she might go, maybe?"

"Yes, there is a place. Let me get my jacket."

"No, wait, Father. We can do this ourselves."

"Son, if Casey's really in trouble, then there's nothing to talk about." He stood, putting on his jacket. "Shall we go?"

* * *

 **CASEY'S HOUSE – NIGHT  
** DPOV

"Kind of funny, don't you think?" Casey asked when she realized I wasn't going to speak anymore. "You and me sitting here like a couple of regular folk."

"Yeah, it's hilarious, you know, in that apocalyptic sort of way." I muttered dryly.

"You're alright, Dean." She said. I scoffed, shaking my head. "The others don't describe you that way. But, you know, you're- you're likable."

"A demon likes me."I mumbled, shaking my head. "Sorry, I don't know how to respond to that."

"You could say thanks." She said, watching me closely for a moment. "That deal you made to save Sam and Victoria – a lot of others would mock you for it, think it was weak or stupid. I don't."

"It's been kind of liberating, actually. You know, what's the point in worrying about a future, when you don't have one?" I shrugged, finding it weird how willing I was to pour my heart out a demon. I guess things just really didn't matter anymore.

"Still, a year left. You're not scared?"

"Nah."

"Not even a little?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not scared of leaving Victoria? Never seeing her again? Or Sam?"

I swallowed hard, trying not to show my hesitation. "Of course not."

Casey nodded, lying languorously down on the floor. I glanced down at her, looking away quickly. Demon, remember?

"Why, Dean, if I didn't know better, I'd say that was lust in your eyes." She smiled. "Well, it would be one way to spend the time...but I don't think you'd respect me in the morning."

"Hey, I barely respect you now." I said, looking back to her. "Can I ask you a question?"

"I'm an open book."

"So, the gate opened. The demon army was let out. What now, huh? I'm not seeing a big, honking plan here."

"Honestly, there was a plan. Azazel was a tyrant, but he held us all together."

" _Azazel?_ " I asked, having no clue who she was talking about.

"What, you think his friends just called him _yellow-eyes_? He had a name. After you did him in, it all fell apart."

"Sorry about that." I smiled, not meaning it in the least. "So, what? No chain of command?"

"There was. It was Sam. Sam was supposed to be the grand pooh-bah and lead the big army, but he hasn't exactly stepped up to the plate, has he?"

"Thank God for that." I sighed.

"Again with God. You think this is a good thing? Now you've got chaos, a war without a front, hundreds of demons all jockeying for power, all fighting for the crown. Most of them gunning for your brother and Victoria."

"Tori?"

"How many times do we have to tell you about her?"

"No one's ever really told me anything. Just that she's special."

"She is." Casey said, sitting up. "Think here, Dean. Lucifer exists. Demon's exist. Even God exists. Now follow the pattern. What comes after that?"

I stared at her with wide eyes, immediately calling bullshit in my head. No matter how much she was willing to tell me, she had to be lying. There was just no way.

* * *

 **CAR – NIGHT  
** TPOV

Being in such close quarters with Father Gil made my stomach churn wildly, letting me know everything I needed to with one simple feeling. All I had to do now was try and keep my calm, not let him know that I knew.

"So, insurance investigating. You enjoy the work?" Father Gil asked, glancing over at Sam from behind the steering wheel.

"Yeah, yeah, I...like being able to help people." Sam nodded.

"Ever think about doing anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Anything. You seem like a pretty smart kid. Somehow I see you out in front of the pack." He said, glancing over at Sam. "You could do some great things."

"I don't know. I like doing what I'm doing, I guess." Sam shrugged, clearly not noticing the strange look he'd gotten from Father Gil.

"Well, it's your life. Does, um... _Dean_?"

"Yeah, Dean."

"Does he find trouble often?"

"Yeah, Dean finds his fair share."

"Well, it's a good thing he has you — his brother's keeper." Father Gil muttered, pulling the station wagon up in front of Casey's house.

"She's here?" I asked, getting out of the car, walking up to the door with them.

"She should be."

"Dean!" I called, hoping he could hear me.

"Tori!?" I heard the faint call of Dean's voice, rushing towards it. I came to a small grate that led to the basement. "The basement caved in!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, hold on."

"We're coming." Sam called in the distance, rushing over to me with Father Gil.

"Who's we?" Dean asked.

"Father Gil is here." I told him.

"Tori, be careful."

"I know." I nodded, turning around just as Father Gil's eyes went black, a smirk on his face.

Suddenly, a bullet flew past his head, destroying a small statute next to us. As Father Gil moved, I saw Bobby standing a few feet away with the Colt. Father Gil waved a hand, flinging him across the lawn before sending Sam flying into the windshield of the Impala. Just as Father Gil turned towards me, a blonde girl appeared out of nowhere, grabbing my hand. In the blink of an eye, we were across the lawn, hiding behind a tree. Father Gil looked around before letting out a huff, blowing the front door down, heading inside.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Your saving grace." She snipped.

Sam let out a groan, calling my attention back to him. I quickly ran over to him, helping him up off the car before rushing over to Bobby.

"Bobby, you alright?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Bobby nodded, sitting up.

"How did you know where we-"

"Go!" Bobby exclaimed, handing Sam the rebuilt Colt.

"You heard the man. Go." The blonde said, gesturing to the door. Sam and I took off, running back to the house, trying to make our way down the basement steps as quietly as possible.

"Don't kill him. Let's just go." A woman muttered. "Please."

Sam turned the corner, not waiting a second as he shot Father Gil point blank. My eyes widened as light erupted from him and I froze as the body fell to the ground. Without waiting, Sam pointed the gun to Casey.

"Sam!"

"Sam, wait!" Dean shouted. Sam ignored both of us, shooting Casey. I watched in horror as she fell to the ground beside Father Gil, both bodies now bleeding out.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, looking at him in shock. "There were people in there, Sam!"

"I had to do it." Sam mumbled, looking as through he was trying to justify to himself what he'd done. "I had- I had to."

* * *

 **MAIN-STREET – DAY  
** DPOV

A little bit later, Tori and I broke away from Sam, asking Bobby to take a small walk with us. I made sure to keep my arm around Tori, knowing that what happened back there really upset her. She didn't like seeing innocent victims of possession getting murdered. And neither did I.

"Well, what do you think, Bobby?" I asked. "About what we did here, you think it made a difference?"

"Two less demons to worry about." Bobby shrugged. "That's not nothing."

"Yeah, but Trotter's still alive."

"Humans ain't our job."

"Yeah, but you think anything's really gonna change? I mean maybe these people do just want to really destroy themselves. Maybe it is a losing battle."

"Is that you or the demon girl talking?" Bobby asked.

"It's me. The demon is dead…"

"And so is the girl it was possessing." Tori finished sadly. I squeezed her a little tighter to me.

"Vic, I know how you feel, but it had to be done." Bobby said. "Sam was saving Dean's life."

"But you didn't see it, Bobby. It was cold." I muttered, turning to face him. "Bobby?"

"Yeah?"

"Back in Wyoming, uh, there was this moment. Yellow Eyes said something to me."

"What'd he say?"

"That maybe when Sam came back from, well wherever, that maybe he came back different."

"Different how?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. You think something's wrong with my brother?"

"No. Demons lie. I'm sure Sam's okay." Bobby said.

"Demon's lie. Right." I mumbled, glancing down at Tori as I thought about what Casey had said about her. Why she was special.

I just couldn't let myself believe that, it was too crazy.

* * *

 **I'm on a roll! This is the longest chapter of Bring The Rain so far! But I think this is the last one for today. I really liked the way it came out, so I should probably stop here lol**

 **I'm sorry, I had to change that** ** _could fit that ass on a nickel_** **thing, because, to be perfectly honest, after thinking about it for a few minutes (way too long, by the way) I still** **don't get it. Is he saying her butt's small? That can't be it. Was he trying to say you could** ** _bounce_** **a nickel off of it like a quarter? That's what I assumed, so that's what I changed it to.**

 **But I guess** **those** **are some of life's questions I'll never live long enough to find the answers** **for.**

 **As always, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow me so we can talk about Dean!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction**


	5. Bedtime Stories

_Clipped wings, I was a broken thing  
Had a voice, had a voice  
But I could not sing  
You had warn me down  
I struggled on the ground  
So lost, the line had been crossed  
Had a voice, had a voice  
But I could not talk  
You held me down  
I struggle to fly now_

 _..._

 _Now I fly, hit the high notes_  
 _I have a voice, have a voice  
Hear me roar tonight  
You held me down  
But I fought back loud_

 _There's a scream inside that we all try to hide_ _  
_ _We hold on so tight, we cannot deny_  
 _Eats us alive  
Oh, it eats us alive  
Yes, there's a scream inside that we all try to hide  
We hold on so tight, but I don't wanna die  
No  
I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die_

 _ **Sia – Bird Set Free**_

* * *

My head throbbed as the boys sat in front of me, practically yelling at each other about the same thing for the past half hour that we'd been in the car. Neither one of them wanted to give up, bickering back and forth.

"I don't understand, Dean. Why not?" Sam asked angrily.

"Because I said so."

"We got the Colt now!"

Dean shot a warning look at Sam, looking back to the road. "Sam..."

"We can summon the crossroads demon-"

"We're not summoning anything."

"-pull the gun on her, and force her to let you out of the deal!"

"We don't even know if that'll work!" Dean exclaimed, both of them yelling over each other.

"Well then we'll just shoot her! If she dies then the deal goes away!"

"We don't know if that'll work either, Sam! All you're pitching me right now is a bunch of _ifs_ and _maybes_ and that's not good enough, because if we screw with this deal, you both die!"

"And if we don't screw with it, you die!"

"Enough!" I shouted, slamming my hands on the top of the front seat. "Stop fighting!"

"Why aren't you more angry?" Sam asked, glancing back at me. "Why don't you want to do anything to stop this!?"

"Of course I do, Sam! Don't say that to me. I'd do anything to stop this, but I'm tired of hearing you two fighting about it all the time! Your arguing isn't doing any good. It isn't doing anything." I muttered, leaning back in the seat, rubbing my temples.

"Tell me about the psychotic killer." Dean said, glancing over at his brother. "Sam, tell me about the psychotic killer."

"Psychotic killer…rips victims apart with brute-like ferocity." Sam mumbled monotonously, reading from the paper in his lap.

"Okay, any mention of his razor sharp teeth or his four-inch claws? Animal eyes?"

"No. But the lunar cycle's right. Look, if it is a werewolf we don't have long, moon's full this Friday and that's the last time it changes for a month."

"Two days, no sweat." Dean shrugged. Just from the simply glance back, I could tell Sam was upset with me. I just didn't want us to fight right now.

* * *

 **HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY**

Inside the pristine hospital room, the three of us stood on the side of a man with scrapes and bandages in the bed, who had been a witness to the attack, showing him our badges before questioning him.

"I'm Detective Plant, this is Detective Page and Detective Bonham." Dean said, nodding to Sam and I. "We're with the County Sheriff's Department."

"Yeah, uh, I've been expecting you." Kyle muttered.

"You have?"

"All morning. You are the sketch artists, right?"

"Um." I mumbled, glancing between the boys. I knew for a fact that neither one of us could draw for shit.

"Absolutely. That is exactly who my partner is." Dean said, nodding over to Sam. "The things he can do with a pen...but listen before we get started on that, I wanted to ask you, uh, how'd you get away?"

"I– I have no idea. I was hiding, and he found me. He was coming right for me and then he just... stopped. Staring at me with this blank look. And after that he just took off running."

"Okay." Sam sighed, pulling a small notebook and pen from his pocket. "Um, I'm going to need as much physical detail as you can remember."

"Uh, yeah. Uh, he's about six feet tall..."

"Six feet..."

"Dark hair." Kyle said. I glanced over at the sketch Sam was drawing, trying to hide my shock at how bad it actually was.

"What- what about his eyes, what color eyes did he have?" Sam asked.

"Maybe….blue?"

" _Blue_?"

"It was dark." Kyle shrugged.

"Did they seem..." Dean cleared his throat. "Uh, animal-ish?"

"...excuse me?"

"What about his teeth? Did you notice anything...abnormal about them?" I asked.

"No. They were just teeth."

" _Teeth_ , okay." Sam nodded, going back to the pad.

"How about his fingernails?" Dean asked.

"Okay, look he- he's just a normal guy, with normal eyes and teeth and fingernails!" Kyle exclaimed, shooting us a weird look.

Sam sighed. "Look sir, it's okay if-"

"No. No. Those were my brothers. This guy, he- he killed my brothers. How would you feel?"

"Can't imagine anything worse." Sam mumbled, glancing over at Dean.

Dean nodded, looking back down to Kyle. "I know this isn't easy but if you could remember any more details..."

"Th- there was one more thing. He had a tattoo on his arm of a cartoon character. It's the guy who's chasing the Roadrunner-"

"... _Wile E. Coyote_?" I asked incredulously furrowing my brow.

"Yeah, that's it."

"Kyle?" A gray-haired man knocked lightly on the door, stepping into the room.

"Dr. Garrison."

"How you holding up?"

"Okay, considering." Kyle shrugged, wincing as he did so.

"You're Kyle's doctor?" Dean asked, turning towards him.

"Yes." Dr. Garrison nodded.

Dean held up his badge. "Can I just ask you a few questions?"

"Sure." Dr. Garrison agreed, leading Dean out of the room and into the hallway, leaving Sam and I alone with Kyle.

"Don't I get to see it?" Kyle asked, pointing to the notepad.

"Uh." Sam chuckled nervously, glancing over at me before handing the pad towards Kyle. "It's a- you know… a work in progress."

"Hm. It- it's really...huh." Kyle mumbled, clearly not wanting to be rude.

"Well, Kyle I hope you feel better soon." I smiled, pulling notepad out of his hands. As I did, I glanced down at the paper, seeing a very poorly drawn stick-figure man. I held my laughter in, looking back to Kyle. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Yeah." Kyle nodded, looking down.

"Thanks for your time." Sam muttered, he and I leaving the room.

Once we were out into the hallway, I held the picture up, smiling at it. "This is- this is really something, Sam."

"Yeah, yeah."

"I think I'll keep it. _Sam's first picture_."

"Shut up." Sam huffed, a small smile on his face as he pulled the notepad back. "Like you could've done any better."

"Probably not." I admitted, spotting Dean a little ways down the hallway from us.

"So what did the Doc have to say about Kyle's brothers?" Sam asked as we walked up to him.

"Not much, they were D.O.A. at the scene." Dean told us as we headed towards the exit. "He did give me the lowdown on the coroner's report."

"Let me guess, their hearts were missing."

"Nope." Dean sighed. "Chunks of their kidneys, lungs and intestines."

"Ew." I mumbled.

"That's just gross."

"Yeah, also definitely not werewolf behavior." Dean said.

"So, what? Demon? Attacker could've been possessed."

"I don't think a demon would stop halfway through an attack." I said.

"Well maybe..." Sam trailed off, shaking his head. "Yeah, I got nothing."

"Me neither." Dean shrugged.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

We had gone back to the motel room to try and figure some other things out. Sam was sitting at the table, the police scanner beside him turned on just in case as he read through John's journal. A little while ago Dean had gone to get some good, leaving Sam and I alone in the room.

Usually, I'd be fine with it, but I couldn't help but feel the tension in here. I rested my head in my hands staring over at Sam. He glanced up at me out of the corner of his eye, shooting me a strange look.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"What?"

"Are you?" I repeated, sitting upright. "Tell me, I want to know."

"No, Tori." Sam muttered rolling his eyes.

"Why'd you roll your eyes then?"

"I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Tori, why would I be mad?"

"Because-" I paused, not wanting to say it out loud. I knew he blamed me for Dean going to hell. He had to.

"Because, what?" Sam asked, finally looking up at me.

"Because, if it weren't for me-"

"Wait." Sam said, turning up the scanner. The static voice of a woman came through stating that a frantic woman had called nine-one-one, claiming that someone had murdered her boyfriend.

Just then Dean came back in, carrying bags of food. I leaned back in the bed, folding my arms.

There goes my chance to talk to Sam.

* * *

 **HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY**

Once we found the girls name and information, we headed back out to the hospital without eating. Much to Dean's dismay. As we walked up to her room, I heard her frantic voice echoing throughout the hall as Dr. Garrison tried to calm her down.

"We need to observe you while the drugs still might be in your system." Dr. Garrison told the dark-haired girl lying in the hospital bed.

"I have to go. I have things to do, arrangements I need to make!" She cried.

"It can wait. Now you need to rest. Stay. I'll be back in a few minutes." Dr. Garrison said, turning to find us standing in the doorway. "Detectives."

"Dr. Garrison." Dean nodded.

"What the hell is going on here? My whole town is going insane."

"We'll let you know as soon as we find out." I said, watching him leave the room. The three of us stepped in, making our way over to the panicked looking woman.

"Miss Watson? Hi." Dean smiled. "We just need to ask you a few questions."

"Do we have to go over this again?" She asked tearfully. "Now?"

"We'll try to be brief." Sam said. "Miss Watson, can you tell us how you got away?"

"I didn't eat as much as Ken did, so I wasn't as out of it. And, when the old woman was...carving up Ken, I shoved her, and she fell. Cracked her head on the stove." She mumbled, looking up at us. "She's dead, right? I- I killed her?"

"Do you have any idea why she'd do this to you?" Dean asked.

"No! One minute she was a sweet old lady and the next she was, like, a monster."

"Do you remember anything else?" I asked.

"Um, yeah. Did you find a little girl there, by any chance?"

"A little girl at the house?"

"I thought I saw her outside the window. She just disappeared. Just vanished, into thin air." She muttered, shaking her head. "It m- must've been the drugs.

"This disappearing girl, what did she look like?" Dean asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Of course." I nodded. "Every detail matters."

"She had this dark, dark hair and really pale skin. She was around eight. She was a beautiful child. It was... odd to see her in the middle of something so horrible."

"Well, we'll be sure to get right on that." I said. "Thank you for your time."

"Yeah." She nodded, looking back down as we headed out of the room.

"So, a little girl?"

"Maybe a ghost?" Sam suggested. "We better go check."

* * *

 **OLD LADY'S HOME – DAY**

As we came upon the small house in the middle of the woods, I felt a chill creep up my spine. This place was straight out of a fairytale. We headed inside, doing a quick sweep of the house to see what we could find.

"Well, there's no sulfur anywhere. How about the EMF?" Dean asked, glancing over at me.

"Yeah, it's going crazy." I replied. "When I went over there by the window especially. There's definitely a spirit here."

"Who stood outside the crime scene and watched."

"Yeah, I guess."

"What the hell do you make of that?"

"Actually I do have a theory. Uh, sort of." Sam shrugged.

"Hit me."

"Well, thinking about fairytales-"

"Oh, that's nice." Dean grinned. "You think about fairytales often?"

"No, Dean, I'm talking about the murders." Sam said, rolling his eyes. "A guy and a girl? Hiking through the woods, an old lady tries to eat 'em?"

"Hansel and Gretel." I muttered. "I knew this place reminded me of something."

"Right. And then we got three brothers, arguing over how to build houses, attacked by the Big Bad Wolf."

"Three Little Pigs." Dean said.

"Yeah."

"Actually those guys were a little chubby. Well, wait, I thought those things ended with everybody living happily ever after?"

"Not the originals." I said, shaking my head. "The Grimm Brothers' stories were like the folklore of it's day. Full of sex, violence, murder, cannibalism. Over the years, they've been changed and turned into Disney movies and bedtime stories, but they definitely didn't start out that way."

"So the murders are what? A re-enactment?" Dean scoffed. That's a little crazy."

"Crazy as what?" Sam asked. "Every day of our lives?

"Touché." Dean nodded. "How's the creepy ghost girl involved?"

"Well, she must've been here for a reason. I'm willing to bet you top dollar she was at the construction site too."

"We gotta do research now, don't we?" Dean asked.

"I think so." I nodded.

* * *

 **CUMBERLAND COUNTY CENTRAL LIBRARY – DAY**

At one of the tables in the large library, Dean sat next to me, tapping his foot on the leg of the table as he flipped through a few pages of the book in front of him with an annoyed look.

"Are we done yet?"

"Yeah, I think so." I nodded, shutting the book in front of me before standing to my feet.

"Good. I can't wait to get out of here." Dean said, standing up with me.

"You sure about that?" I asked, glancing over at him with a smirk.

"What?" Dean asked, watching me closely as I grabbed his jacket, pulling him over to one of the library's empty study rooms, shutting the door behind me. "You are not thinking of doing what I think you're thinking."

"Oh, I am." I smiled, pulling him down to kiss me.

* * *

Even though we tried to make it quick, I knew we were in there a lot longer and probably made it seem really suspicious. I could tell that we were probably a bit too loud as well, by the dirty look we got from one of the old librarians as we left.

"I think she heard us." Dean chuckled, glancing over to me.

"Yeah, she didn't seem to happy." I laughed as we made our way across the street to Sam, who shot us a disapproving look at our disheveled appearances.

"So? What'd you find out?"

"Learning is fun." Dean grinned.

Sam rolled his eyes. "You guys- you need help. What did you really find out? Or is that what you did the whole entire time?"

"We didn't really find anything." I shrugged.

"Checked every record they had." Dean said. "Found the usual amount of violent childhood deaths for a town this size. Wanna know how many how many were little girls with black hair and pale skin?"

"Zero?" Sam asked as we continued walking down the sidewalk towards a park.

"Zero. You wanna know how many how many little girls with black hair and pale skin that have gone missing? Right again. Zip. zilch, nada. Tell me you've got something good."

"Well you ever hear of Lillian Bailey? She was a British medium from the nineteen-thirties."

"Nope." I shook my head. "What does she have to do with this?"

"She'd go into these unconscious states where, get this, _her thoughts and actions were completely controlled by spirits_."

"A ghost puppet master." Dean mumbled.

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"Think that's what this kid is doing? Sending wolfboy and grandma into trances, making them go kill-crazy?"

"Could be." Sam shrugged. "You know, kinda like spirit hypnosis or something."

"Trances I get, but fairytale trances? That's bizarre even for us." Dean said, stopping on the sidewalk when he spotted a bullfrog sitting in front of us.

"Yeah, you're right. That's completely normal."

"Alright, maybe it is fairytales. Totally messed-up fairytales." Dean muttered as the frog croaked, jumping towards us.

"I think he likes you." I said, glancing up at Dean as the frog moved closer.

"Yeah, well, there's no way I'm kissing a damn frog."

"Hey. Check that out." Sam said, pointing to a pumpkin sitting on a porch.

"Yeah? It's close to Halloween."

"You remember Cinderella? With the pumpkin that turns into a coach, and the mice that become horses?"

"Dude, could you be more gay?" Dean asked, looking up at Sam, who stared at him, narrowing his eyes.

"Come on." I said, rolling my eyes as I stepped in front of the boys, making my way across the street to the house. "Give me your lockpick."

"Here." Sam said, handing it to me. I bent down, picking the lock on the door, gently pushing it open.

"Who knows, maybe you'll find your fairy godmother?" Dean commented, smirking at Sam, who walked into the house after I'd given him his lockpick back, breaking away from Dean and I in the large front room to look over one side.

Upon hearing a clanking sound a few rooms away, we each pulled out our guns, slowly moving towards it. My mouth dropped open at the sight in front of me as we entered the kitchen. There was a blonde teenage girl chained up to the stove, her mascara running down her face.

"Are you okay?" I asked, putting my gun away as I went over to her.

"You have to help me. She's a lunatic." She muttered.

"What happened?" Dean asked as Sam knelt down next to me, puling out his lock-pick to free her.

"My step mom, she just freaked out, screamed at me, beat me. Chained me up."

"Where is she now?" Sam asked.

"I don't know."

"Look." Dean called. I looked up at the doorway, seeing a pale little girl with long, black hair, a red ribbon tied in it. She turned walking into the living room when I got up, following after her.

"Who are you?" I asked, watching as she turned around to face me, flickering a bit before vanishing. I stood there for a moment staring at the place she'd just been before looking down to see a bright red apple sitting on the rug. I picked it up, twirling the shiny fruit in my hand.

* * *

"Paramedics picked up Cinderella." Sam said, him and Dean making their way over to me as I waited by the Impala.

"That's good."

"Yeah."

"So, after the little girl disappeared, I found this on the ground." I said, showing them the apple. "Snow White."

"Snow White? Oh, I saw that movie." Dean nodded, pausing for a moment as he thought about it. "Or the porn version anyway, 'cause there was this wicked Stepmother? Woo, she was wicked."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Please stop talking."

"There is a wicked Stepmother." Sam said, trying to ignore Dean. "And she tries to kill Snow White with a poison apple."

"But the apple doesn't actually kill the girl, right?" Dean asked, almost sounding concerned as he took the apple from me, looking it over.

"It puts her in a deep sleep. It's almost like she's dead." I explained.

"Well, what happens? Does she ever wake up?"

"Well, yeah."

"Oh, good." Dean nodded, lifting the apple to his lips, about to bite it. I quickly grabbed it from him, my eyes wide.

"Dean! What did the hell did Sam just say? _Poisoned apple_. Pay attention!"

"Sorry!" Dean huffed, rolling his eyes. "I really doubt it's poisoned."

"I'd rather not take the chance."

* * *

 **HOSPITAL – DAY**

Once we'd gotten back to the hospital, we went to the nurses station, asking for some information on the patients here.

"No, sorry. We don't have any comatose little girls." The nurse muttered, looking at us like we were a little strange for asking such a question.

"You sure?" Sam asked.

"Totally. It's mostly old guys. And, well...Callie. She's been around since before I started here."

"Callie?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, it's so sad. And poor Dr. Garrison, he just...won't give up on her."

"Is Callie a patient of his?" I asked.

"No. His daughter."

After getting Callie's room number from the nurse, we made our way over there, stopping in the doorway when we saw Dr. Garrison in the room, sitting next to the hospital bed which contained an unconscious young woman with long dark hair.

". _..and the Huntsman stepped inside, and in the bed lay the Wolf. So the Huntsman took a pair of scissors and cut open the Wolf's belly._ " Dr. Garrison read. I craned my neck, seeing the book he held was _The Complete Works and Tales of The Brothers Grimm._

Dr. Garrison glanced up, putting the book down and walking over to us. "Detectives. Can I help you?"

"We just heard that Callie is your daughter and we wanted to say how sorry we are." I said.

"Well, uh. Thank you." He nodded, moving out into the hallway. "If you'll excuse me."

"Oh, heading this way?" Dean asked. "We'll walk with you. How long's Callie been like that?"

"We don't mean to intrude." Sam interjected as we followed Dr. Garrison. "We can't possibly understand how hard it must be for you seeing her like this."

"It's not easy. She's uh, been here since she was eight years old."

"That's when she was poisoned?"

"Yeah. Swallowed bleach. Never figured out how she got her hands on the bottle. My wife found her and brought her to the ER here and I was on call."

"You're wife was uh- was that Callie's stepmother?" Dean asked. Dr. Garrison stopped waking, looking over at Dean.

"Actually, yes. How'd you know that?"

Dean shrugged. "Lucky guess."

"Well, Julie was the only mother that Callie ever knew. My wife passed away last year and...it's just my daughter and me now. She's all I've got left." Dr. Garrison muttered, becoming emotional. "Um, excuse me. I've gotta get back to work."

"Of course." I nodded, shooting him an apologetic smile as he turned and walked away.

"Well, you're right. It's Snow White in spades." Dean said.

"Yup." Sam nodded. "Step-mom poisons the girl, puts her into a deep sleep. What's the motive you think?

"Could be like _Mischa Barton_." Dean said, glancing up to see a confused look on Sam's face. " _Sixth Sense_ not the _O.C."_

"What?" Sam asked, seemingly more confused than before.

"Hey, you know fairytales, I know movies. She played the pasty ghost. You know the- remember the mom had that thing, you know, where you keep the kid sick so you get all the attention?"

"Oh, yeah. Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy." Sam nodded.

"So you think Callie's step-mom poisoned her just to get attention?" I asked.

"Could be."

"Say all these years, Callie's been suffering silently because nobody knows the truth about what _mommy dearest_ did." Dean said.

"And after all this time her spirit just gets angrier and angrier, until it finally just starts lashing out." Sam agreed.

"Meanwhile she has to listen to Dad tell her these deranged stories about a rabid wolf or a cannibalistic old lady. It's enough to drive anybody nuts."

"Alright, then how are we gonna stop her?" I asked. "She's here, she's still pretty much alive."

"It does make it a bit hard to burn the bones." Dean mumbled.

"Well, yeah." I scoffed. Just then shouting started in the distance as the emergency doors burst open and a couple EMT's rolled in an old woman on a stretched.

"Okay, what's her status?" A doctor asked, walking over.

"Seventy-two year old female, sustained multiple lacerations and puncture wounds. BP is eighty over forty and falling. Sinus tachycardia." The EMT replied.

"Is that a bite?"

"Looks like she was mauled by a mad dog or, maybe a wolf?"

"What was the last story Dr. Garrison was reading Callie?" Dean asked, glancing over at me.

"Sounded like _Little Red Riding Hood_." I said. No more than a few seconds later, one of the EMTs called the time, throwing a cover over the woman, wheeling her body off while another lingered back.

"Excuse me." Sam called, going over to the man with his badge out. "Was she the only victim?"

"She was found by the side of the road, barely alive. Alone."

"We need to find her next of kin." Dean said.

"Uh, she has a granddaughter." The EMT said, looking up from a few pieces of paper.

"Do you have an address?"

"Yeah, here." He said, handing Dean a piece of paper.

"Thank you." Dean said, glancing over to Sam and I. "Hey, you find a way to stop Callie, alright?"

"What about you?" Sam asked.

"I'm gonna go stop the Big Bad Wolf. Which is the weirdest thing I've ever said." Dean muttered, turning to walk away.

"Sam, please go with him." I said, glancing up at him. "I'll stay here, figure something out."

"Okay." Sam nodded, rushing after Dean as he got in the Impala. I turned back towards the hospital, searching through the corridors looking for Dr. Garrison. I'd almost given up hope on finding him when I turned a corner, seeing him down the hallway.

"Dr. Garrison!" I called, running up to him. "Can I speak with you?"

"Sure. What can I do for you?"

"It's about- it's about Callie."

"My daughter?" He asked. "What about her?"

"I don't- I don't know how to say this any other way so..."

"What?"

"I don't think what happened to Callie was an accident."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry-"

"You have no idea what happened to my daughter." He spat, walking away. I kept up with him, hoping he would just listen to me.

"There are just things you don't know Doctor, about this whole thing."

"Oh, and you do?"

"Actually yes." I nodded. "You told us you never figured out how Callie got to the bleach, right?"

"I don't have time for this."

"Doctor, your wife poisoned Callie." I said, stopping him in his tracks.

"Why would you say something so horrible to me?" He asked, his eyes full of hurt and anger.

"I need your help."

"You stay away from me, and from my daughter, you understand?"

"This isn't what you think, doctor, honestly." I said as he turned into Callie's room, slamming the door in my face. I quickly opened it, making my way inside.

"I'm calling Security." Dr. Garrison said, reaching for the phone. Before he could grab it, I ran over, standing in front of it. "Move."

"Doctor, please listen." I muttered, letting out sigh. "I don't want to be harsh, but if you don't listen to me more people are going to get hurt. Because Callie is going to hurt them."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I know you think I'm crazy, but please just listen. Your daughter is still here. She's a spirit."

Dr. Garrison glanced over at Callie sadly, sitting at the end of her bed before looking up at me, tears in his eyes. "You've seen her too."

" _Too_?" I asked, surprised.

"I sensed her, her presence. I even saw her standing at the foot of my bed. but I never...believed it, I thought I was dreaming, I-"

"It wasn't a dream. She looks just like she did when she was eight. A white dress, a red ribbon in her hair. She's been trying to talk to you this whole time."

"You're not a cop are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Then who are you? A psychic?"

"No, I'm just somebody who knows about this kind of stuff."

"But what you said about my wife poisoning Callie, that's-"

"Callie told me."

"What?!" Dr. Garrison exclaimed, shocked.

"Not really in words, but in her own way, she did."

"My wife loved Callie." He said, shaking his head. "So how is- how is that possible?"

"I'm not sure, but it is."

"No, I- I don't believe you."

"Doctor, Callie is killing people. She's angry and she's desperate because no one will listen to her. You have to be the one to do that. Listen to your daughter." I said. "She needs...closure."

Dr. Garrison stared up at me for a moment before looking back down to Callie. "Callie? Callie, it's Daddy. s it true? Mommy did that to you? I- I know I wasn't listening before, but I'm listening now. Daddy's here. Please honey, is- is there anyway that you can tell me?"

Behind Dr. Garrison, Callie suddenly appeared, staring over at him with sad, forlorn eyes.

"Doctor." I called, nodding over to the little girl.

Dr. Garrison looked up, jumping back slightly when he saw the spirit of his daughter standing there. "Is it true?" Callie stared for a moment longer before nodding a slow, single nod. Dr. Garrison teared up almost immediately. "Oh, I'm so sorry. But listen to me. You gotta stop what you're doing, okay? You're hurting people. I know everything now. I know the truth. It's time for you to let go. It's time for me to let you go."

I felt tears spring to my eyes as Dr. Garrison turned back to Callie's body in the hospital bed, kissing her forehead just as the monitors beeped, flat-lining. Her spirit disappeared, finally set free.

* * *

Once everything was over, I called Sam and Dean, telling them to come back to the hospital. Dr. Garrison stood with the three of the nurses station, his eyes still red from crying.

"So. It's really over."

"Thanks to you." I said, a small smile on my face.

"Callie was the most important thing in my life. But I should've let her go a long time ago." Dr. Garrison muttered, looking down.

"See you around, Doctor." Dean said.

"I sure hope not." He mumbled, patting Dean on the shoulder before walking away.

"You know what he said? Some good advice."

"Is that what you want us to do Dean?" Sam asked. "Just let you go?"

Dean didn't say another word, just looking between Sam and I for a long moment before turning to leave. I knew that was exactly what he wanted, and while I was willing to give him whatever, that was something I wasn't about to do.

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT**

In the silence of the night, I heard some shuffling across the room, leaning up to see Sam moving around, zipping a backpack shut.

"Sam? What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep." Sam muttered.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find that crossroads demon."

"What?" I asked, sitting upright as he turned to leave. "Sam, wait."

"Tori, don't try to stop me." Sam said, shaking his head, not looking as I got up throwing on my shoes. "I'm gonna go."

"So am I."

"What?" Sam asked, clearly surprised. I didn't say another word, pulling on my jacket as I made my way over to him. "Alright then, let's go."

* * *

Inside the Impala, we drove in silence, the only sound was the wind whipping past the car. I glanced over at Sam, trying to figure out the best way to say this.

"I'm sorry, Sam."

"What?" He asked, glancing over at me.

"I know you blame me. I blame myself, too. For Dean...going to-" I stopped, looking down to my lap.

"If you didn't make that deal...Dean wouldn't be going." Sam mumbled.

"I know." I nodded, feeling tears spring to my eyes.

Sam sighed. "Dean probably would have done it anyway."

"I don't know." I said, wiping the tears away. "I understand if you hate me."

"Tori I don't- I don't hate you." Sam said, looking over at me, tears in his eyes. "I just wish neither one of you ever made a deal with begin with. I wish you just went on with your lives."

"It's not that easy, Sam. That wouldn't have happened. And I just- I didn't want to see Dean like that anymore. I didn't want to see you like that anymore…that's why I did it. I just wanted you two to be happy."

"Either way, we wouldn't be happy." Sam shrugged.

"I don't know about that."

"You'd die. Dean wouldn't be happy about that. I wouldn't be happy about that." Sam said, glancing over at me. "You think I wouldn't be this upset if you were the only one to make a deal?"

"I don't- I don't know." I shrugged.

"I'd be doing the same thing right now. The only difference would be that Dean would be with me instead of you." Sam said, looking over at me as he pulled up in front of the crossroads.

"I want to do whatever I can to stop this, you have to know that." I said, my tears falling freely again. "I can't just let him go, I can't."

"We won't."

"...I'm sorry." I cried.

"It's okay." Sam said. "You know I'm upset with Dean, too. I wish you guys didn't do this."

"Yeah, I know." I nodded. "It was just hard to see that happen to you, Sam. You're my brother."

"I know." Sam muttered, a tears running down his cheeks. "You and I, we just have to figure this out now."

"We will." I sniffled, looking up at him.

"Alright. Come on."

* * *

 **CROSSROADS – NIGHT**

I watched on as Sam placed a photo into the small box, shutting it before burying it in the middle of the crossroads. I felt a chill fly down my spine, my stomach immediately aching as that same female demon appeared, a grin on her red lips.

"Well. Little Sammy Winchester. I'm touched. I mean...your brother and sister have been to see me, but you? I never had the pleasure." She smiled, glancing over at me. "Here to make another deal, angel?"

"Maybe." I shrugged, ignoring Sam's annoyed look.

" _Maybe?_ "

"If I made another deal would that stop Dean from going to hell?"

She sucked air in through her teeth, shaking her head. "Sorry, that deal's already pretty buried deep. See, I'm just a saleswoman. I got a boss like everybody. He holds the contract, not me. He wants Dean's soul. And believe me. He's not going to let it go."

"Who? Who holds the contract?"

"He's not as cuddly as me, I can tell you that."

"Who is it?"

"I can't tell you that now, can I?" She asked, glancing over to Sam. "Now, what can I do for _you?_ "

"You can beg for your life." Sam said, puling up the Colt.

"We were having such a nice conversation. Then you had to go and ruin the mood."

"If I were you, I'd drop the wisecracks and start acting scared."

"That's not the original Colt. Where did you get that?" She asked, her eyes training on the gun. "Ruby? Had to be. She is such a pain in my ass. She'll get what's coming to her...you can count on it."

"That's enough. We came here to make you an offer."

"You're gonna make _me_ an offer? That's adorable."

"You can let Dean out of his deal right now. He lives, I live, Tori lives. You live. Everyone goes home happy. Or-" Sam paused, cocking the Colt. "You stop breathing. Permanently."

"Didn't I just go over this with her?" The demon asked, pointing over to me with a laugh. "Listen, I have to tell you, you're not very convincing. I mean, come on. Do you even _want_ to break the deal?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know. Aren't you tired of cleaning up Dean's messes? Aren't you tired of being bossed around like a snot-nosed little brother?" She asked Sam, glancing over at me. "Aren't you tired of dealing with that broken psyche of his? All his daddy issues. You're both stronger than Dean. Better than him."

"Don't you dare." I hissed.

"You're here, going through the motions. But truth is...you'll be a tiny bit relieved when he's gone."

"Shut up." Sam threatened.

"No more desperate, sloppy, needy Dean. You can finally be free."

"I said, shut up!"

"Doth protest too much if you ask me."

"Sam, please, she's not worth it. Let's just go." I said, looking up at him.

"We're not going anywhere until she let's Dean out his deal." Sam said, looking back to her. "Now."

"You just don't get it, do you?" She asked, taking a step forward. "That's not gonna happen."

"Every deal can be broken."

"Not this one." She shrugged. "See, there was something I realized about Dean. His soul is valuable. Not as much as Victora's, but still. His deal is iron clad."

"Fine. Then I'll kill you. If you're gone, so's the deal."

"You're bluffing."

"Am I? Shoot me, if it'll get you off. But the deal still holds, and when Dean's time is up, he's getting dragged into the pit." She said. "There's no way outta this one. Not this time."

Sam let out a sigh, pulling the trigger much to my surprise, killing the demon and the woman it was possessing right in front of my eyes all over again. My mouth dropped open as I glanced up at him, seeing a cold look in his eyes as he stared over at her before walking back to the Impala. I stood there, frozen in place.

It had become painfully obvious by his actions that Sam really wasn't fully himself anymore.

* * *

 **Well, we all knew this was coming, huh?**

 **I didn't go too crazy in detail with Dean and Tori's library escapade this time...but you know, use your imagination lol**

 **Also, I want to give a special shout out to Kim, who as left a couple awesome reviews on this story! I really wish you had an account so I could answer you!**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**

 **;P**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction **


	6. Red Sky at Morning

_Don't touch the sleeping pills  
They mess with my head  
Dredging up great white sharks  
Swimming in the bed  
And here comes a killer whale  
To sing me to sleep  
Thrashing the covers off  
Has me by it's teeth  
_… _.._

 _What's with the long face?  
Do you want more?  
Thousands of red-eyed mice  
Scratching at the door  
And don't let the curtain catch you  
_' _Cause you've been here before  
The chair is an island, darling  
You can't touch the floor  
_… _._

 _Well, good God  
Under starry skies, we are lost  
Into the breach, we got tossed  
And the water's coming in fast_

 _My love, remind me  
What was it that I said?  
I can't help but pull the earth around  
To make my bed  
My love, remind me  
What was it that I did?  
Did I drink too much?  
Am I losing touch?  
Did I build a ship to wreck?_

 _To wreck, to wreck_  
 _To wreck_  
 _Did I build this ship to wreck?_

 _ **Florence and the Machine – Ship To Wreck**_

* * *

Since we'd left Maple Springs, I'd been waiting nervously for Dean to say something. I wasn't sure why he was taking so long to bring it up, maybe he was trying to get one of us to fess up first. I knew he figured out what happened, because I saw him checking the Colt earlier. He knew a bullet was missing and that only meant one thing.

"So, I've been waiting. You got something to tell me?" Dean asked, glancing over at Sam.

"It's not your birthday." Sam muttered, playing dumb as he glanced back at me. "Right?"

"No, it's not."

"Happy Purim?" Sam asked with a laugh. "Dude, I don't know. I have no idea what you're talking about-"

"There's a bullet missing from the Colt. You want to tell me how that happened? I know it wasn't me. It wasn't Tori-"

"How do you know that?"

"Because Tori wouldn't do that." Dean said, glancing back at me. "Right?"

"Well, no." I mumbled, gaining a glare from Sam.

"There you go." Dean said, looking back to his brother. "So unless you were shooting at some incredibly evil cans...you went after her, didn't you? The crossroads demon. After I told you not to."

"Yeah, well..." Sam shrugged.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"I didn't."

"And you shot her."

"She was a smartass!"

"So, what? Does that- does that mean I'm out of my deal?" Dean asked, a hopeful tinge to his voice.

"No. Someone else holds the contract." I said.

"How do you know?" Dean asked, looking back at me. "Did you know about this?" When I didn't answer, his eyes went wide before narrowing at me. "Did you go?"

"Maybe." I mumbled. "Yeah."

"Dammit." Dean huffed, looking back to the road. "How could you do that, Tori?"

"Dean, there has to be something we can do. A way out of this."

"Right, we can ask the crossroads demon who holds the contract – oh, wait."

"That's not funny, Dean." Sam muttered.

"No, it's not!" Dean exploded. "It was a stupid freaking risk, and you shouldn't have done it."

"I shouldn't have done it? You're my brother, Dean. And no matter what you do, I'm gonna try and save you. And I'm sure as hell not gonna apologize for it, alright?" Sam snapped, shutting Dean up.

* * *

 **GERTRUDE CASE'S** **HOUSE – DAY**

The large, mansion style house was perfectly clean. Every little item and picture frame in it's place. We sat in front of an older woman, her long, gray hair flowing down over one shoulder with a sparkly barrette in it. She held up a picture of the dark-haired woman, who had drowned in her shower.

"But I don't understand. I already went over all this with the other detectives." She muttered, eying Sam again. I noticed how, since we'd been here, she hadn't taken her eyes off of him.

"Right, yes. But, see, we're with the Sheriff's Department, not the police department – different departments." Dean told her.

"So, Mrs. Case..." Sam began.

"Please. _Ms_. Case." She smiled, staring shamelessly at Sam.

"Okay. Um, _Ms._ Case, you were the one who found your niece, correct?" Sam asked, already getting uncomfortable.

"I came home, she was in the shower."

"Drowned?"

"So the coroner says. Now, you tell me, how can someone drown in the shower?"

"How would you describe Sheila's behavior in the days before her death? I mean, did she seem frightened? Maybe she said something out of the ordinary?"

"Wait a minute. You're working with Alex, aren't you?" She asked, looking between us.

"Yup. Absolutely." Dean nodded.

"Why didn't you say so? Alex has been such a comfort. But I'm sorry. I thought the case was solved."

"Well, not yet." I said.

"I see."

"So, we were talking about your niece."

"Well, yes. Sheila mentioned something quite strange before she died. She said she saw a boat."

"A boat?"

"Yes. One minute it was there, then it was gone. It just disappeared right before her eyes. You think it could be a ghost ship? Alex thinks it could be a ghost ship." Gertrude said, clearly addressing all her words to Sam only.

"Well, um...could be." Sam mumbled, squirming under her stare.

"Well, thank you for your time, ma'am." I smiled, standing up along with Dean. Just as Sam tried to move, she grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"You let me know if there's anything else I can do for you." She paused, tracing a finger along Sam's hand. I glanced up at Dean's smirking face, trying not to laugh. "Anything at all."

* * *

 **DOCKS – DAY**

After leaving Gertrude's we made our way back down the dock to where we parked the Impala. I glanced over at the clear blue water crowded with several boats all line up along the dock. I had to admit, this was a nice place to be.

"Well, Sam, I think you have an acquired an admirer." I said, glancing up to see a grimace on his face.

"What a crazy old broad." Dean commented.

"Why? Because she believes in ghosts?" Sam asked.

"Look at you, sticking up for your girlfriend." Dean laughed. "You cougar hound."

"Bite me."

"Hey, not if she bites you first. So, who's this Alex? We got another player in town?"

"Maybe." I shrugged. "It doesn't change what we have to do here."

"And what _looked like_ a ghost ship, right?"

"It's not the first one sighted around here, either." Sam said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Every thirty-seven years, like clockwork, reports of a vanishing three-mast clipper ship out in the bay. And every thirty-seven years, a rash of weirdo, dry-land drownings."

I nodded. "Then whatever's happening is just getting started."

"Yeah."

"What's the lore?" Dean asked.

"Well, there are apparitions of old wrecks sighted all over the world. The _S.S. Violet_ , the _Griffin_ , the _Flying Dutchman_ – almost all of them are death omens."

"So, what happens? You see the ship and then a few hours later, you pucker up and kiss your ass goodbye?"

"Basically." Sam shrugged.

"What's the next step?"

"Gotta I.D. the boat."

"That shouldn't be too hard. I mean, how many three-mast clipper ships have wrecked off the coast?"

"I checked that too, actually." Sam told us. "Over one hundred and fifty."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Shit." I huffed.

"Uh-huh."

"This is where we parked the car, right?" Dean asked, standing in front of the now empty parking space.

"Yeah, I think so." I said, looking around.

"Where's my car?"

"Did you feed the meter?" Sam asked.

"Yes, I fed the meter." Dean snapped, his voice growing panicked. "Where's my car? Somebody stole my car!"

"Calm down, Dean-"

"I am calmed down! Somebody stole my ca-" Dean wheezed, bending over to clutch his knees as he started hyperventilating. I rushed over to him, wrapping an arm around him to hold him steady as he practically gasped for air.

"Dean, relax." I said in a calming tone. "Breathe. In and out. Good."

"The sixty-seven Impala? Was that yours?" A British female voice muttered.

I glanced up, narrowing my eyes as soon as I saw her. " _Bela_."

"I'm sorry. I had that car towed."

"You what?!" Dean shouted.

"Well, it was in a tow-away zone." She shrugged.

"No, it wasn't!"

"It was when I finished with it."

"Dean, calm down, baby." I said.

"Oh, god. _Baby_." Dean nearly wailed, bending over again.

"What the hell are you doing here, Bela?" I snapped, trying to hold Dean steady.

"A little yachting."

"You're Alex. You're working with that old lady." Sam said.

"Gert's a dear old friend."

"Yeah, right." I scoffed. "What are you getting out of it?"

"Nothing. There's a lot of lovely old women like Gert up and down the eastern seaboard. I sell them charms, perform séances so they can commune with their dead cats."

"Then you are getting _something_ out of it."

" _Potato, potahto_." She shrugged.

"And none of it's real."

"The comfort I provide them is _very_ real."

"How do you sleep at night?" Sam asked, looking at her in disgust.

"On silk sheets, rolling naked in money." She smiled. Dean glanced up, raising an eyebrow. I shook my head, pushing his back down. "Really, Sam. I'd expect the attitude from them, but you?"

"You _shot_ me!"

"I barely grazed you." She said, glancing over to Dean, who finally stood upright. "Cute. But a bit of a drama queen, yeah?"

"No one asked for your opinion." Dean grumbled.

"You do know what's going on here, don't you?" I asked. "This ghost-ship is real."

"I'm aware." She nodded. "Thanks for telling Gert the case wasn't solved, by the way."

"Well, it isn't."

"She didn't know that. Now the old bag's stopped payment and she's demanding some real answers. Look...just stay out of my way before you cause any more trouble."

"Us stay out of _your_ way? Is that a threat?" I asked, taking a step towards her.

"Listen darling, I'm not above shooting you."

"Well, _darling,_ look at that. One thing we have in common. I'm not above shooting you, either."

"Damn, where's a kiddie pool full of mud and a couple of bikini's when you need them?" Dean muttered quietly to Sam, who just shook his head.

"Jesus, Dean." I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"I'd get to that car if I were you...before they find the arsenal in the trunk." Bela smiled, blowing me a kiss before walking away. "Ciao."

"Would it be wrong if I shot her right now?" I asked, turning back to the boys. "Can I shoot her?"

"Not in public." Sam mumbled.

* * *

 **WARREN HOUSE – NIGHT**

As we approached the house, I noticed a few cops mulling around, casing the crime scene. A little ways away, my eyes caught Bela, who stood with the victim's brother, questioning him.

"No. The police said that he drowned, but I don't u-understand how..." He muttered.

"I am so sorry for your loss, Mr. Warren." Bela said. "Now, if you could just tell me one more time about the ship your brother saw-"

"Ma'am, I think this man's been through quite enough. You should go." Dean said, flashing his badge.

"But I just have a few more questions."

"I don't think you do." I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Thank you for your time." Bela smiled at the man, shooting daggers at us before walking away.

"Sorry you had to deal with that. _They're like roaches_." Dean said, raising his voice so Bela could hear.

"So, we heard you say your brother saw a ship." Sam said.

"Yeah, that's right." The man nodded.

"Did he tell you what it looked like?" Dean asked.

"It was, uh... like the old Yankee clippers. A smuggling vessel. The rakish topsail, a barkentine rigging. Angel figurehead on the bow."

"That's a lot of detail for a ship your brother saw."

"My brother and I were night diving. I saw the ship, too." Mr. Warren said. I shared a look with Sam and Dean, seeing Bela talking to a couple more cops a few feet away, pointing over to us. I nudged the boys, nodding over to her to let them know we had to leave.

* * *

 **WOODS – NIGHT**

A couple of blocks from Mr. Warren's house, we stared loading up some shotguns at the trunk of the Impala, preparing for the night.

"I see you got your car back." Bela muttered, sauntering over.

"Do you really want to come around me when I have a loaded gun in my hands?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Now, now. Mind your blood pressure. Why are you even still here? You have enough to I.D. the boat."

"That guy back there saw the ship." Sam explained.

"Yeah? And?" Bela asked.

"And, he's going to die, so we have to save him."

"How sweet." She chuckled.

"You think this is funny?" Dean asked.

"He's cannon fodder. He can't be saved in time, and you know it."

"Yeah, well, see, we have souls, so...we're gonna try."

"Yeah, well, I'm actually going to find the ship and put an end to this. But you have fun."

"Hey, Bela, how'd you get like this, huh? What, did Daddy not give you enough hugs or something?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. Your daddy give you enough? Don't you dare look down your nose at me. You're not better than I am."

"We help people."

"Come on." She scoffed. "You do this out of vengeance and obsession. You're a stone's throw from being a serial killer. Whereas I, on the other hand, I get paid to do a job and I do it. So, you tell me – which is healthier?"

"Why don't you just leave?" I asked. "We've got work to do and you're giving me a headache."

"Yeah. You're oh for two. Bang-up job so far." She raised an eyebrow, leaving.

"We're not in public now." I said, raising my gun. Sam reached over, lowering the barrel. "I wasn't gonna do it."

"Really?"

"No." I mumbled, heading around to the backseat of the car as the boys got in the front.

* * *

 **WARREN HOUSE – NIGHT**

I rested my arms on the back of the front seat, placing my head on top of them as Sam read over some papers in his lap. We'd been here for a while now, and nothing seemed to be happening.

"Anything good?" Dean asked, glancing over at the papers.

"No, not really. I mean, both brothers are Duke University grads. No criminal record. I mean, a few speeding tickets. They inherited their father's real estate fortune six years ago."

"How much?"

"Hundred and twelve million." Sam replied.

"Nice life."

"Yeah. I mean, nice, clean, aboveboard. So why did they see the ship? Why Sheila, too? What do they all have in common?"

"Maybe nothing."

"No. There's always something."

"Hey, you!" Peter Warren called, walking out of his house towards the car, stopping inside the security gate.

"I think we've been made." Dean sighed, the three of us getting out of the car.

"What are you guys doing?! You watching me?"

"Sir, calm down. Please." Sam said.

"You guys aren't cops! Not dressed like that. Not – not in that crappy car."

"Whoa, hey." Dean huffed. "No need to get nasty."

"We are cops, alright? We're...undercover." I said. "We're here because we think you're in danger."

"From who?!"

"If you just settle down, we'll talk about it." Sam told him.

"Look, you guys just stay away from me!" He said, getting in his car, driving towards the gate.

"Hey, you moron! We're trying to help you!" Dean shouted. Suddenly the car sputtered and died. "That can't be good."

"No. Get the salt gun." Sam said.

Dean ran back to the car as Sam and I rushed towards the gate, climbing over it to get to the car. When we got there, a spirit in a long navy coat sat in the passenger seat, his hair dripping in front of his eyes. Peter gurgled, choking up water. Sam and I pounded on the window as Dean ran up, aiming his gun.

"Guys!"

Sam and I both ducked down, hearing the sound of glass shattering around us as Dean shot the spirit inside the car. I stood back up as Dean unlocked the door, and Sam pulled Peter out, checking for a pulse. A few seconds passed before his shoulder's slumped and he looked up at us, shaking his head.

* * *

We'd kept quiet on the drive back to the house we were staying in, neither one of us really wanting to talk about what happened.

"Do one of you wanna say it or should I?" Dean asked suddenly.

"What?" I asked, looking up.

"You can't save everybody."

"Yeah, right, so- so what, you feel better now or what?" Sam asked.

"No, not really." Dean shrugged, sitting down with a sigh.

"Me neither."

"You gotta understa-"

"It's just lately, I feel like I can't save anybody." Sam mumbled, looking down.

A knock sounded on the door, calling our attention. I got up, making my way over, cracking the door open to see Bela standing there. I rolled my eyes, opening the door all the way.

"Bitch. I mean, Bela." I corrected quickly, shooting her a fake smile.

"Dear...god. Are you actually squatting? Charming." She grinned forcefully. "So how'd things go last night with Peter?"

"If you say _I told you so_ , I swear to God I'll start swinging." Dean threatened.

"Look, I think the four of us should have a heart-to-heart."

"That's assuming that you have a heart."

"Dean, please...I'm sorry about what I said before, okay? I come bearing gifts." She said, pushing her way past me into the house. I glared at the back of her head, slamming the door shut. "I've ID'd the ship."

"Good for you." I mumbled, folding my arms. "You get a sticker."

"Do you want my help or not?" She spat, glancing up at me.

"Not." I said, moving to open the door again.

"Wait, wait." Sam said, standing up. "What did you find?"

"It's the _Espírito Santo_ , a merchant sailing vessel, quite a colorful history." Bela said, opening a folder on the table. "In eighteen-fifty-nine a sailor was accused of treason. He was tried aboard ship in a kangaroo court and hanged. He was thirty-seven."

"Which would explain the thirty-seven year cycle."

"Aren't you a sharp tack? There's a photo of him somewhere." She muttered, flipping through the pages before landing on an old painting of a man. "Here."

"Isn't that the guy we saw last night?" I asked.

"You saw him?"

"Yeah, that's him, except he was missing a hand." Dean said.

"His right hand?"

"How'd you know?" Sam asked.

"The sailor's body was cremated, but not before they cut off his hand to make a hand of glory."

"A hand of glory?" Dean asked, glancing over at me with a smirk. "I think I got one of those at the end of that massage last week."

"I think you did." I grinned, seeing Sam trying to hold back a gag.

"The right hand of a hanged man is a serious occult object." Sam muttered. "It's very powerful."

"That's what they say."

"And officially counts as remains." Dean said.

"But still, none of this explains why the ghost is choosing these victims." Sam said.

"I'll tell you why. Who cares?" Bela said. "Find the hand, burn it, and stop the bloody thing."

"I don't get it. Why are you telling us all of this?" Dean asked, looking over at her.

"Because I know exactly where the hand is."

"Where?"

"At the Sea Pines Museum. It's a macabre bit of maritime history. But I need help."

"What kind of help?" Sam asked. Bela smiled, keeping her eyes trained on him.

* * *

Currently Bela was standing in front of me, wearing in a dark blue dress and a pair of black heels. A glare on her face as she shook her head, her dark brown curls bouncing around. "You'll ruin everything."

"I don't see how." I shrugged.

"Sam has a date and Dean is-"

"My boyfriend, therefor, my date."

"Mine. It's the only way that makes sense. You should stay here."

"You know, what? I'm not having this conversation with you." I said, adjusting the heart-shaped top of my white, knee length dress. "Dean, come on we gotta go!"

"So not okay with this!" Dean exclaimed from the top of the stairs.

"What are you, a woman? Come down already." Bela said.

Dean peaked his head out, slowly walking down the stairs in his suit. His eye's immediately landed on me, widening. "Wow, you look...wow."

"Thanks." I smiled, looking him over.

"I know, I look ridiculous."

"So not the word I would use." I muttered, glancing up at Bela to see her eyes trailing over his body. "I swear, I will gouge your eyes out with a rusty spoon if you keep looking at him like that."

"You know, I think we all should really have angry sex later." Bela smirked.

"I'd rather die." I scoffed.

"Well-" Dean started, stopping when I shot him a glare. "No, yeah, rather die. Me too."

* * *

 **SEA PINES MUSEUM – NIGHT**

Just as we got up to the door of the building, Bela pushed me behind her, threading her arm through Dean's as she handed an invitation to the doorman.

"Are you chewing gum?" Bela asked, glancing up at Dean. "Try to behave as if you've lived this life before, yeah?"

I walked up to Dean's other side, holding my hand underneath his mouth. As he dropped the gum into my open palm, I reached over, opening Bela's clutch, dropping the gum inside with a smile. Her eyes widened as she looked up at me, trying to hide how angry she was.

"This'll get their tongues wagging, eh, my Adonis?" Gert asked, practically undressing Sam with her eyes in front of us.

Sam sighed. "Just remember, we're on business."

"Oh, but sometimes business can be pleasure, hm?" She asked, sliding a hand up his chest. I covered my hand with my mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Right." Sam nodded. Gert ran her hand over Sam's back, stopping it right above his butt. Sam flinched, breaking away from her. "You know, uh, could you excuse me for a moment?"

"Of course." She grinned.

"Great. Thanks." Sam muttered, making his way over to us. "Exactly how long do you expect me to entertain my date?"

"As long as it takes." Bela muttered.

"Look, there's security all over this place, alright." Dean said. "This is an uncrashable party without Gert's invitation, so..."

"We can crash anything, Dean." Sam said.

"Yeah, I know, but this is easier and it's a lot more entertaining." Dean chuckled.

"You know there are limits to what I'll do, right?"

"Ah, he's playing hard to get, that's cute."

"I want all the details in the morning!" I smiled at Sam, following Dean and Bela over to a less crowded room as Sam glared.

"Private security?" Bela asked.

"I don't think so. Look at the way they're standing. They're pros. Probably state troopers moonlighting." Dean said.

"Posted to every door, too."

"Yeah, I don't think we're just going to be able to waltz upstairs." Dean muttered.

"What do you suggest?"

"I'm thinking."

"Don't strain yourself." She commented, raising an eyebrow. "Interesting how the legend is so much more than the man."

"I've got an idea." I said.

"Really?" Bela asked, glancing over at me.

"Better play along."

"We'll see."

When a few of the guards watching us looked away, I subtly pushed my toe underneath Bela's right heel, nudging her with my shoulder. Dean caught her as she fell over, startled for a moment before pretending to faint.

"Oh, no!" I exclaimed, looking up to Dean. "Honey, put her down. You'll hurt your back holding up all that weight." Dean snickered, laying half of Bela's body on the floor. I looked around, seeing a waiter nearby. "Excuse me? My sister fainted. She has a severe...allergy."

"There's no crab in that? Is there?" Dean asked, pointing to the tray of appetizers.

"No, sir." The waiter muttered.

"No?" Dean asked, shoving one in his mouth. "Oh they're excellent, by the way."

"What seems to be the trouble?" One of the guards asked, walking over.

"My sister, she's fainted." I told him, shaking my head "Poor, stupid, little thing."

"What?" He asked, not hearing the last part.

"Nothing." I smiled. "Is there somewhere we can take her to recover?"

"Follow me." The guard said, leading us up the stairs.

"You got her?" I asked as Dean let out an exaggerated groan while picking her up. The guard opened up one of the doors, leading us inside the large room. Dean went over, laying Bela down on the red couch in the room.

"Thank you." I smiled up at the man, shutting the door behind him, turning around as Bela sat up.

"I have to admit, that wasn't a bad plan."

"It didn't go exactly as planned."

"How so?"

"Dean caught you." I mumbled, folding my arms as she stared. "What's the matter? No witty comeback?"

"Room two-thirty-five."

"Oh, good one."

"It's the room number." Bela said, looking over at Dean. "It's in a locked glass case wired for alarm, I'm sure that won't be a problem."

" _I'm sure that won't be a problem."_ Dean mumbled mockingly as he left the room.

"I can't wait to get this over with and get away from you." I said.

"Believe me, I can't either." Bela said, looking around on a small table next to the couch.

"Sir? Ma'am? Everything alright?" The guard called through the door. I grabbed the top of Bela's head, pushing her back down into a lying position on the couch before going over and answering the door.

"Hi."

"How's everything?"

"Oh, she's still out. It should only take a few more minutes, if that's okay?" I asked, biting my lip, playing with the ends of my long ponytail.

"Oh, uh, y- yes ma'am." He stuttered, glancing down at my chest before looking back to my eyes with embarrassment.

"Thank you." I smiled, shutting the door on him.

"Does Dean know you flirt your way out of things?" Bela asked, sitting up again.

"Does Dean know I flirt my way out of things." I scoffed, shaking my head. "Honey, Dean invented that."

"I see." She nodded, touching her curls. "I think you messed up my hair. God, it probably looks horrible now."

"Don't worry, it looked horrible before." I retorted. Just then, the door opened and Dean walked in, a bulge in his pocket. "Well, aren't you happy to see me."

Dean smiled, shutting the door behind him. "Any trouble?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

"The hand?" Bela asked, watching Dean pull out the wizened hand from his pocket. Bela walked over, reaching for it. "May I?"

"No." Dean said, wrapping it in a handkerchief.

"It might be more inconspicuous in my purse."

"Nice try."

"Just trying to be helpful." She shrugged.

"Well, sweetheart, I don't need your kind of help." Dean said, tucking the hand back in his pocket.

* * *

After that the three of us headed back down to the main floor, over to where Sam and Gertrude were dancing. She seemed to be hanging all over him, even though he looked extremely uncomfortable. I almost felt bad…almost.

"Well! Having a nice time?" Bela asked as we approached.

"He's delightful!" Gertrude smiled, leaning into Bela. "He wants me!"

"Oh." Bela muttered. My eyes widened and I glanced over at Sam, seeing an abashed look on his face. "I'm going to get Gert into a cold shower."

"Great idea." Sam nodded.

"See you at the cemetery." Bela called, leading Gertrude outside.

"You stink like sex." Dean commented, grinning up at Sam.

"You got it, right? Tell me I didn't get groped all night by _Mrs. Havisham_ for nothing." Sam said as we made our way back outside to the parking lot.

"I got it..." Dean nodded. "Mrs. Who?"

"Never mind. Just let me see it."

Dean nodded, pulling the object out of his pocket, unwrapping it. My eyes widened as I stared down at the small ship in a bottle that Bela had been eying before in the office.

"You're kidding me." I mumbled, glancing up at Dean.

"I'm gonna kill her." Dean spat through gritted teeth.

"You can kill her after I do."

* * *

Back at the house, I was so ready to change out of this dress and heals and back into my normal, clothes. My feet were officially killing me.

"You know what, I'm not gonna kill her. I think slow torture's the way to go." Dean said, inspecting the ship in the bottle as I sat in the middle of the floor, lighting a few more candles to keep the place lit.

"I agree." I mumbled.

"Guys, you gotta relax." Sam said.

"Relax." Dean scoffed. "Oh yeah, yeah, I'll relax. I can't believe she got another one over on us."

"Just you guys."

"What?" I asked, looking over at him.

"I mean, she got- she got one over...on you two. Not all of _us_."

"You're joking." I said, looking at him in disapproval.

"Thank you, Sam. Very helpful." Dean huffed.

"Hello? Could you open up?" Bela's voice echoed through the closed door. I looked between the boys, shaking my head. "Please?"

"No." I muttered in a hushed voice.

"Hello?"

"No one's home, go away!" I shouted.

"Please, just let me explain!"

I shared a look with the boys, pushing up off the floor with a huff as I made my way over to the door, opening it. "You've got ten seconds."

"At least let me inside."

"Eight."

"I sold it. I had a buyer lined up as soon as I knew it existed."

"Goodbye." I said, staring to close the door on her when she pushed it back open.

"Please? You're not heartless, are you?" She asked. I stared down at her for a moment before stepping to the side, letting her in. "Thank you."

"Shove it."

"So the whole reason for us going to the charity ball..." Sam trailed off.

"I needed a cover. You were convenient." Bela shrugged.

"Look, you sold it to a buyer. Just go buy it back."

"It's halfway across the ocean. I can't get it back in time."

"In time for what?" Dean asked.

"What's going on with you, Bela? You look like you've seen a ghost." Sam said.

"I saw the ship." Bela muttered, barely above a whisper.

"You what?" Dean asked, scoffing. "Wow, you know, I- I knew you were an immoral thieving con artist bitch, but just when I thought my opinion of you couldn't get any lower-"

"What are you talking about?"

"We figured out the spirit's motive." Sam said, showing her a picture of a man. "This is the captain of our ship. The one who hung our ghost boy."

"So?"

"So they were brothers. Very Cain and Abel. So now our spirit, he's going after a very specific kind of target – people who've spilled their own family's blood." Sam said. Bela stared up at him, shocked. "See first there was Sheila who killed her cousin in the car accident, and the Warren brothers, who murdered their father for the inheritance. And now you."

"Oh my God."

"So who was it, Bela?" Dean asked, stepping towards her. "Who'd you kill? Was it Daddy? Your little sis, maybe?"

"It's none of your business." Bela spat, obviously getting emotional.

"No? Right. Well, have a nice life – you know, whatever's left of it.." Dean said, slapping her on the back. "Let's go."

"You can't just leave me here." Bela said, watching us as we headed towards the door.

"Really?" I asked, pulling my jacket on. "Don't forget to blow the candles out."

"Please. I need your help."

"Our help?" Dean asked, turning back to her. "Now how could a bunch of serial killers possibly help you?"

"Okay, that was a bit harsh, I admit it, but it doesn't warrant a death sentence."

"That's not why you're gonna die." Sam said. "What'd you do, Bela?"

"You wouldn't understand. No one did." Bela mumbled, looking vulnerable and genuine for the first time since I'd met her. I hated to admit it, but I actually felt a little bad. "Never mind. I'll just do what I've always done, I'll deal with it myself."

"You do realize you just sold the one thing that could save your life." Dean said.

"I'm aware." Bela muttered sadly.

I sighed, looking up at her. "Well, maybe not the only thing."

* * *

 **CEMETERY – NIGHT**

As I knelt on the ground in front of the few candles I had lit, Sam handed me a jar of red liquid to pour into the bowl in the middle of the makeshift pentagram. I took a pinch of the herbs from another jar, sprinkling them over the blood.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Bela asked, watching me as I sloshed the bowl around a little to mix everything.

"Almost definitely not." Dean mumbled, leaning on a tombstone, his gun resting on his shoulder. Thunder crashed in the distance as the wind blew and rain started pouring down.

" _Aziel, Castiel, Lamisniel, Rabam. Ehrley, et balam, ego vos conuro, per deum verum, per deum vivum cuivos cuiaves eos supermontes et per eum, qui adam, et avum formovit. Et per eum."_ I started reading as the wind picked up, blowing around wildly.

"Stay close!" Dean shouted.

"Behind you!" Bela called.

Just then, the spirit appeared, throwing Dean through the air. I kept reading, watching with wide eyes as the spirit moved over to Bela, placing a hand on her face. She instantly fell to the ground, coughing up water.

"Tori, read faster!"

"I'm doing the best I can, here." I said in between breaks of Latin. Suddenly, the rain died down as a creaking down echoed through the air.

The spirit turned, coming face to face with his brother. "You...hanged me!

"I'm sorry."

"Your own brother."

"I'm so sorry!"

The spirit charged his brother's ghost and the both of them dissolved into screams and a large splash of water in front of us, disappearing.

* * *

We left Bela at the cemetery after everything was done, heading back to the house to pack up so we could leave. To be honest, I was still wet and tired and I just wanted to go take a shower and get some sleep.

"You three should learn to lock your doors. Anyone could just barge in." Bela muttered, making her way into the house.

"Anyone just did." Sam commented. "Did you come to say goodbye or thank you?"

"I've come to settle affairs. Giving the spirit what he really wanted, his own brother – very clever. So here." She said, tossing us each a packet of money. "It's ten thousand – that should cover it. I don't like being in anyone's debt."

"So ponying up ten grand is easier for you than a simple thank you?" Dean asked, shaking his head at her nod. "You're so damaged."

"Takes one to know one." She smiled, heading back outside. "Goodbye."

"She got style. You gotta give her that." Sam sighed.

"You got a crush on her or something?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No." Sam mumbled, looking down. "You know, we don't know where this money's been."

"No, but I know where it's going..." Dean grinned. "Atlantic City, baby."

"Seriously?"

"Hell yeah! Play some roulette. Always bet on black." Dean said, a serious look coming over his face as he glanced up at Sam and I. "Hey listen, I've been doing some thinking. And I want you to know I understand why you did it. I understand why you went after the crossroads demon."

"Yeah?" I asked as Sam sighed.

"You know, if the situation was reversed, I guess I would've done the same thing. I mean I'm not blind, I see what you're going through with this whole deal, me going away and all that." Dean said, looking over at me. "But you're gonna be okay."

"You think so." Sam muttered tonelessly.

"Yeah, you'll keep hunting, you, know, you live your life. You're stronger than me. You'll- you'll get over it." Dean said, looking to me. "Find somebody else."

"Don't you even-" I shook my head, feeling the tears in my eyes as anger bubbled in me. "Don't even say that to me."

"Hey, you never know." Dean shrugged, looking down so he wouldn't see my tear-filled eyes. "But I want you to know I'm sorry. I'm sorry for...putting you through all this, I am."

Sam glanced over at me, seeing me crying a little harder before looking back to his brother. "You know what, Dean? Go screw yourself."

"What?" Dean asked, clearly taken a-back.

"I don't want an apology from you!"

"Oh, well, excuse me."

"This is the whole problem in the first place, Dean! I want you to worry about you! I want you to give a crap that you're dying!" Sam exclaimed. Dean didn't say anything, a smirk on his lips. "So, that's it? Nothing else to say for you?"

"I think maybe I'll play craps." Dean grinned, his smile fading when I shook my head in disappointment, grabbing my bag and pushing past him roughly as I rushed outside so he wouldn't see me cry anymore.

I thought that no matter what Dean tried to pretend, he cared about dying, about leaving us. But lately it seemed the exact opposite. Deep down, I knew he was doing this to be strong for us, though I still couldn't help but second guess myself. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

* * *

 **Another chapter today! Yay! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!**

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	7. Fresh Blood

_Now I'm walking in the sun  
Yes, a new age has begun  
I am living on the ground  
So nothing they can do can push me down  
….._

 _Now I'm walking in the rain  
Yes, and I can feel the weight on my shoulders  
Gonna shake it off again  
'Cause there's nothing they can do to push me over  
…._

 _Everything that was  
It no longer is anymore  
Everything I knew is long gone  
Everything I said, everything I did  
Things will never be the same again  
They're long gone_

 _ **Zak Abel – Wise Enough**_

* * *

The three of us walked fast through the dark alleyway, shining around flashlights around to try and find the blonde vampire we'd been tracking. I spotted a pool of blood on the ground, nodding for the boys to follow me as I walked over to it, finding a man lying on the ground a few feet away, a bite mark in his neck.

"Don't worry, we're gonna get you some help, alright?" I said, leaning over the man as he sputtered out blood.

"Where is she?" Dean asked. "Where'd she go?!"

Dean ran off the direction the man weekly pointed to down the alley, turning out of our sight. Sam saw the look on my face, nodding for me to go. "I'll stay here."

"Okay." I nodded, rushing in the direction Dean had gone.

"Come and get it!" Dean called, his voice echoing through the dark alley as I tried to find him. "That's right. Come on. I smell good, don't I? I taste even better."

I furrowed my brow, my eyes widening as I turned a corner seeing Dean dropping his machete on the ground, a stream of blood running off his raised arm. The blonde vampire charged him, grabbing him, just about to sink her teeth in when he plugged the syringe into her neck, letting her fall to the ground.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked, running over to him, checking for any bite marks.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Dean huffed, swatting my hands away.

"You're not fine, Dean. You cut it a little close there."

"Ah, that's just chum in the water. Worked, didn't it?"

"She could've gotten you." I said, glancing down to the unconscious girl.

"Eh. Coulda, shoulda, woulda." Dean shrugged, glancing down to the wound on his arm. "Ow."

"Dean-"

"I'm fine."

* * *

 **MOTEL ROOM – DAY**

The vampire sat in the middle of the room, still out of it from the dead man's blood. Just as the boys and I lifted the last mattress over the final window, I heard her stirring, quickly whipping her head around as she awoke. "You with us?" Dean asked, walking over to her as she struggled against the rope in panic. "Oh, yeah, sorry. You're not going anywhere."

"Where's your nest?" Sam asked.

"What?" She muttered, looking up in confusion.

"Your nest." Dean repeated. "Where you and your bloodsucking pals hang out."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, shaking her head. "Please! I don't feel good."

"Yeah, well, you're gonna feel a hell of a lot worse if we give you another shot of dead man's blood."

"Just let me go."

"You know we can't do that." I said.

"I'm telling you the truth. I'm just...I took something. I'm freaking out! I don't know what's going on!" She cried, getting upset.

"You took something?" Sam asked.

"Yes! I can't... come down. I just want to come down."

"What's your name?"

"Lucy. Please. Just let me go."

"Okay, Lucy." I nodded. "If you tell us what happened, we'll let you go."

"You will?" She asked, looking between the three of us with wide eyes. To be honest, I actually felt bad for her. Dean nodded, shooing me a confused look as he moved behind her. "Uh, I don't really...it's- it's not that clear. I was at Spider."

"What's that?"

"A club on Jefferson. And there was this guy...he was buying me drinks."

"This guy...what's he look like?" Sam asked.

"He was _old_ , like thirty. He had brown hair, a leather jacket... uh, Deacon or Dixon or something. Said he was a dealer... he had something for me. Something new. _Better than anything you've ever tried_. He put a few drops in my drink."

"Was the drug red and thick?" Dean asked. Lucy nodded, her eyes still darting wildly around the room. "Well, genius move there. That was vampire blood he dosed you with."

"What?"

"Yeah, you just took a big steaming shot of the nastiest virus out there."

"You're crazy! He gave me roofies or something! The next thing I know, we're at his place, and he says he's gonna get me something to eat, just wait. But I get so hungry."

"So you left?" I asked.

Lucy nodded. "But it won't wear off...whatever he gave me..."

"Lights are too bright?" Dean asked. "Sunshine hurt your skin?"

"Yeah...and smells. And I can _hear_ blood pumping."

"Well, I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but your blood's never pumping again."

"Not mine...yours. I can hear a heart beating from half a block away. I just want it to stop." She cried. I glanced up at Sam, sharing a sympathetic look. I truly felt bad for her.

"Alight, listen, _Wavy Gravy_. It's not going to stop. You've already killed two people, almost three."

"No, I couldn't. No!" She wailed. "I was hallucinating!"

"You killed them, alright? We've been following a sloppy trail of corpses, and it leads straight to you." Dean said harshly.

"Dean." I said, placing a hand on his arm, shaking my head when he looked up. This wasn't really her fault.

"Please, you have to help me." Lucy muttered, her eyes pleading. Sam nodded to the other room, silently calling Dean and I to follow him.

"Poor girl." Sam sighed.

"I wish there was some way we could help her." I said, glancing out of the room to look at her.

"We don't have a choice." Dean said simply, grabbing his machete back into the other room.

Without a second thought, he raised it as Lucy screamed, decapitating her. I flinched back at the harshness of it all, wrapping my arms around myself as I watched Dean wipe the blood splatter of his face with his sleeve.

* * *

 **BAR - NIGHT**

"That was a big, fat waste of time." Dean huffed as we headed out of the bar.

"Look, three blondes have gone missing, including Lucy, all last sighted here." Sam said. "I'm telling you, Dean, this is the hunting ground."

A good distance away at the end of the alley was a man, his arm wrapped around a blonde woman as she staggered next to him. I nudged the boys, nodding over to them. We quickly took off in their direction, turning the corner just as the man raised a dropper over the girls open mouth.

"You ready, sweetie? One taste of this, you'll never be the same."

Dean grabbed the guys arm, pulling it down, punching him in the face while I grabbed the girl, pushing her towards the opening of the alley. "Go! Now!"

The clicking of her heels rang through the alley as I turned back, I saw the vampire throw Sam and Dean across the alley into the wall before running away. I glanced back at the boys, seeing them waving me off as they got to their feet.

I hurried around the corner in the same direction the vampire had gone, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw Gordon and the man from Black Rock that tried to kill Sam standing there, guns drawn. The boys ran up behind me, pausing when they saw what was in front of us.

Gordon and his friend wasted no time, firing immediately. The three of us quickly ducked behind one of the parked cars, trying to keep away from the bullets.

"Alright. Run. I'll draw them off." Dean said.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head.

"You're crazy!" Sam exclaimed quietly.

"No, Dean. The answer is-"

Dean ignored me, darting out into the line of fire before leaping on top of one of the other cars, using it to get to the second-story of a parking garage. I nearly ran after him, but Sam stopped me, pulling me back down behind the car as the man that was with Gordon quickly followed him, keeping in stride.

Gordon advanced on us, getting closer. I glanced back at Sam worriedly, swallowing hard as I heard bullets ricocheting off the side of the car we were behind. Suddenly, a figure dropped from the building, landing on top of Gordon.

My eyes widened when I realized it was the vampire, watching as he kicked Gordon several times, knocking him out cold. As he dragged him away, Sam and I crept out from behind the car, trying to make our way off the scene as quietly as possible.

* * *

 **MOTEL ROOM – NIGHT**

It'd been what felt like forever since Sam and I had made our way back to the motel. I tried to call Dean, but he didn't pick up, and that worried me. "I might go look for him." I sighed, standing to my feet.

"Tori, he could be anywhere."

"And he could be hurt. Or worse." I said, my voice growing quiet on the last part. "I'm going."

"Alright." Sam nodded. "Just be careful, okay? I'll stay here in case he comes back."

"Yeah." I nodded, grabbing my jacket. Just as I was about to turn the doorknob, the door swung open. I jumped back, staring up at Dean with wide eyes. "What happened? Where were you?"

"Nothing." Dean muttered, walking into the room with a pizza box in his hand. "I stopped for a slice. Brought you some."

"I've been- we've been worried sick over here thinking something could've happened, and you were eating pizza?" I asked, getting angry.

"Hey, it's good pizza." Dean shrugged.

"Nice move you pulled back there, Dean, running right at the weapons!" Sam exclaimed.

"Well, what can I say?" Dean grinned. "I'm a badass."

"Dean, I-" I stopped, pulling in a deep breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. Never mind." I sighed, sitting at the table with my head in my hands. I didn't want to argue with him.

Dean pulled a chair out, sitting in front of me. I glanced up at him, letting out another sigh before staring back down at the lines in the wooden table. "So, I guess Gordon's out of jail."

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Sam shrugged. "You know, how the hell did he know where to find us?"

"That bitch." Dean hissed under his breath.

"Bela?" I asked, shaking my head. "I told you not to tell her where we were!"

"Yeah, yeah." Dean mumbled, pulling out his phone, dialing her number and putting it on speaker. "Hi, Bela."

" _Hello, Dean._ "

"Question for you. When you called me yesterday, it wasn't to thank me for saving your ass, was it?"

" _No. Gordon Walker paid me to tell him where you were._ " She said, completely unabashed.

"Excuse me?"

" _Well, he had a gun on me._ " She laughed. " _What else was I supposed to do?_ "

"Get shot." I spat.

" _Oh, hello Victoria._ " She said, a smile in her voice. " _I miss you, too._ "

"You know, maybe you could've pick up the phone and tell us that a raging psychopath was dropping by!?" Dean exclaimed, getting angry.

" _I did fully intend to call, I just got a bit sidetracked._ "

"He tried to kill us!"

" _I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was such big deal. After all, there are three of you and one of him._ "

"There were two of them."

" _Oh._ " She muttered. " _Well, you've still got one more than he does-_ "

"Bela, if we make it out of this alive, the first thing I'm gonna do is kill you." Dean threatened, his eyes full of anger.

" _You're not serious._ "

"Listen to my voice and tell me if I'm serious." Dean said, snapping the phone shut.

Dean angrily walked out of the room to the Impala, leaving the door open behind him. I got up, watching him from the doorway as he pulled a machete out from the trunk of the Impala and a whetstone, bringing them both back into the room, throwing them down on the table.

"She's not worth getting that upset, Dean." I said.

"Oh, yeah? You wanted to shoot her a couple times!"

"Yeah. But-" I paused, shaking my head. "Never mind. She's a bitch. Be angry."

"Thanks." Dean huffed, pulling the blade out of it's sheath before staring to sharpen it.

"That vampire's still out there." Sam muttered.

"First things first." Dean said.

"Gordon."

"When we find him, or if he finds us...he's not leaving us a lot of options here."

"Yeah, I know." Sam nodded. "We've got to kill him."

"Really? Just like that?" Dean asked, sharing a surprised look with me.

"Yeah."

I thought you would have been like, _no, we can't, he's human, it's wrong_." Dean mocked in a whiny voice.

"No, I'm done." Sam shrugged. "I mean, Gordon's not gonna stop until we're dead... or till he is."

Just then, Dean's phone started ringing, echoing throughout the room. He glanced down at it with a scowl, answering it. "What?!"

" _I don't like it when people hold grudges against me, and more to the point, I'd rather you didn't kill me."_ Bela said. "S _o I went ahead and found Gordon's exact location for you."_

"You're a hundred miles away. How the hell did you-"

" _Hello? Purveyor of powerful occult objects? I used a talking board to contact the other side._ "

"And?"

" _Warehouse. Two stories, riverfront, neon sign outside."_

"Thanks."

" _One more thing. The spirit had a message for you. Leave town, run like hell, and whatever you do, don't go after Gordon. For whatever that's worth._ "

* * *

 **WAREHOUSE – DAY**

The three of us crept down a flight of stairs to the basement of the warehouse, shining around flashlights around to see the bodies of a few women hanging from the ceiling, their heads cut off. I grimaced at the sight, spotting the male vampire from the bar kneeling in front of them, sobbing quietly.

"Go ahead. Do it. Kill me." He muttered.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Gordon Walker. I never should have brought a hunter ere. Never. I just- I just wanted some kind of revenge. Stupid...exposing him to my family."

"Oh, yeah, you're such a family man." Dean scoffed.

"You don't understand."

"I don't want to understand, you son of-"

"I was desperate! You ever felt desperate?" He asked, looking back to us with tear stained cheeks. "I've lost everyone I ever loved. I'm staring down eternity alone. Can you think of a worse hell?"

"Well, there's hell." Dean shrugged.

"I wasn't thinking. I just...I didn't care anymore. Do you know it's like when you just don't give a damn? It's like- it's like being dead already. So just go ahead. Do it."

Dean glanced down at the blade in his hands, staring at his reflection in it before looking back to the vampire. I watched the scene in front of me, an eerie feeling creeping up my spine. Everything just hit too close to home.

"Guys, these head weren't cut off, they were ripped off. With someone's bare hands." Sam said, looking over to the vampire. "Dixon, what did you do to Gordon?"

"I wanted revenge. What do you think I did?" He said.

"Shit." Sam huffed, looking back at us with wide eyes.

"Please. Just- just kill me." The vampire muttered. "Please."

Dean swallowed hard, walking over to him, lifting the machete. The vampire didn't fight back, staying still as he waited.

* * *

 **MOTEL ROOM – DAY**  
DPOV

I pulled off my jacket as I entered the room, throwing it over on the foot of the bed with a huff. I'd been out looking for Gordon for what felt like forever, and there was nothing. No tracks, seemingly no way of finding the bastard.

"Man, I must have checked three dozen motels, empty buildings, warehouses..."

"Yeah, me too. Big city." Sam muttered, staring down at the map on the table.

"It's like a giant haystack, and Gordon's a deadly needle. We're running out of daylight. Won't have the sun slowing him down."

"Yeah, he'll be unstoppable."

"Where's Tori?" I asked, looking into the bathroom for her.

"She didn't come back yet."

"She didn't?" I asked, immediately concerned.

"She just called, said she was finishing up at another place. An old factory, I think." Sam said, looking up at me. "Hey, uh, give me your phone."

"What for?"

"Well, if Gordon knows our cell numbers he can use the cell signal to track us down." Sam explained, pulling the sims cards out.

"Oh, yeah." I nodded, giving him my phone before looking out the curtains. "I don't like that Tori isn't back yet."

"Dean, she's okay." Sam said. "She can take care of herself, you know."

"Yeah." I sighed, walking back over to one of the bags.

"What are you doing?"

"Stay here."

"What?" Sam asked, watching me pull the Colt out.

"I'm going after Gordon."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Not alone, you're not." Sam said, standing up.

"Sam, I don't need you to sign me a permission slip, okay? He's after you, not me, and he's turbocharged. I want you to stay out of harm's way. I'll take care of it."

"Well, Dean, you're not going by yourself. You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Just another day at the office. It's a massively dangerous day at the office." I muttered with a smirk.

"So you're the guy with nothing to lose now, huh? Oh wait, let me guess. It's because you're already dead, right?"

"If the shoe fits." I shrugged.

"You know what, man? I'm sick and tired of your kamikaze trip."

"Whoa, kamikaze? I'm more like a ninja."

"That's not funny."

"It's a little funny."

"No. It's not."

"You know, I just don't get what you and Tori want me to do. What? Sit around all day writing sad poems about how I'm gonna die? Wait, I got one. Let's see, what rhymes with _shut up, Sam_?"

"Dude, drop the attitude, Dean. Quit turning everything into a punch line. And you know something else? Stop trying to act like you're not afraid."

"I'm not!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms out.

"You're lying. And you may as well drop it 'cause I can see right through you."

"You got no idea what you're talking about." I said, looking down.

"Yeah, I do. You're scared, Dean. You're scared because your year is running out, and you're still going to hell, and you're freaked."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I know you!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, I've been following you around my entire life! I mean, I've been looking up to you since I was four, Dean. Studying you, trying to be just like my big brother. So yeah, I know you. And this is exactly how you act when you're terrified." Sam said, his voice growing lower. "And, I mean, I can't blame you. It's just..."

"What?"

"I wish you would drop the show and be my brother again. 'Cause…." Sam paused, tears in his eyes. "Just 'cause."

I stared down at him for a moment, hating how I was upsetting him so much. "Alright, we'll hole up, cover our scent so he can't track us, and wait the night out here."

"Okay." Sam nodded, sitting back down.

Deep down inside, I couldn't really argue with what he said. Because...he was right.

* * *

 **FACTORY – NIGHT  
** TPOV

After getting off the phone with Sam, I started to make my way back to the entrance of the old building so I could get the hell out of here. Just as I reached the door, I heard a noise behind me, turning to find myself face to face with Gordon.

Before I could get away, he overpowered me, grabbing my throat, pushing me against the wall. "Where is he?"

"I won't tell you." I said, trying to hold some of the pressure off my throat with a hand on his arm while the other reached for my gun.

"If only you could see the good I'm doing for this world." Gordon mumbled.

"Good?" I scoffed. "You're kidding me."

"Riding the world of it's worst evil."

"And that's...Sam?"

"Sam Winchester is the antichrist."

My eyes widened as I stared at him, momentarily frozen. "You're joking."

"I'm one hundred percent serious."

"How the hell would you even know what?" I asked.

"I know a lot more than you think." He said. "Like I know how special you are. You'll never know how many demons I had to torture to get that information. I know it's a sore subject for you, but the people didn't make it."

"Fuck you." I spat, grabbing my gun. Gordon pulled me forward harshly, taking the gun from my hand, throwing it across the floor before slamming me into the wall. I groaned out in pain, shutting my eyes tightly as my head throbbed.

Gordon pulled my arms behind my back, pushing me hard against the wall to tie my wrists together with rope. Each time I struggled, he slammed me against the wall, pressing harder. Once the knot was tight, he turned me around, holding my throat in his hand.

"Where is he?" Gordon asked.

"I'm not telling you." I said. Gordon hissed, pulling out a large knife, slicing my arm open.

I cried out in pain as the blood flowed out, dripping down my fingertips to the ground. Gordon stared at it, bending down to lick the blood off the length of my arm. I cringed, shutting my eyes.

"Tell me!"

"No!" I yelled, blinking away my tears. Gordon sneered, slicing my chest open. I gritted my teeth, trying to keep quiet so he didn't get the satisfaction of hearing me hurt. He leaned down again, licking the blood off of me before taking a few steps back, wiping the blood off his face, staring at me with lifeless eyes. his eyes lifeless.

"You're pushing it." He mumbled. "Where is he?"

"You're just not getting it. I'm not telling. You're so good, why don't you just go find him yourself?"

"I tried. I can't find their scent."

"That's not something you hear everyday." I mumbled.

"You're full of wisecracks. Just like Dean..." Gordon chucked darkly. "Don't you realize the trouble you're in?"

"With you or my antichrist brother?" I asked sarcastically.

Gordon punched me hard across the face, taking my chin in his fingers. "That is not something to be joked about."

"No, you're right. The antichrist is a very serious matter." I nodded. "I just have one question. Do you think you're Jesus or something?"

In a flash, Gordon grabbed my throat again, slamming my head hard into the wall, knocking me out cold.

* * *

When I'd woken up sometime later, Gordon was no where to be found. Well, at least from what I could see from my spot on the floor. I glanced around the room, looking for anything I could use to cut my way out of this rope. I looked behind me, seeing a rusty nail sticking out from one of the panels in the wall. I propped myself up a little bit, trying to ignore the pain from the wound on my arm and chest and began running the rope over it, feeling it starting to give way after a few minutes.

Just then, I heard footsteps in the distance and quickly scrambled back to the spot I'd been in before as Gordon walked up, a phone in his hands.

"Nice to see you awake." He mumbled. "I found Dean."

"What did you do to him?" I asked.

"Relax. Nothing." Gordon said, waving a cell phone in front of my face. "I got his number."

"That's great, but honestly he gives that thing out so freely, it's no accomplishment."

"Listen." Gordon spat, grabbing the back of my hair tightly. "No more wisecracks. You cooperate or I kill you. And it won't be quick. Understand?"

I nodded, looking away from his terrifying eyes as he leaned back, dialing a number.

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT  
** DPOV

I looked out the window for the millionth time before pushing a dresser in front of the door as Sam started lighting a bundle of sage, waving it around the room.

"Tori wouldn't be gone this long." I sighed, leaning against the dresser.

"No, she wouldn't. I texted her and she didn't answer." Sam said, looking up at me with worried eyes. "You don't think anything-"

"No." I said, shaking my head. "She's probably just getting back at me for before."

Though I knew deep down that was a lie and something was very, very wrong here. Just then my phone started ringing. I glanced over at it, seeing a number I didn't recognize.

"You've had that phone two hours, Dean. Who'd you give the number to?" Sam asked.

"No one." I said, answering it. "Hello?"

" _Dean._ " Gordon muttered.

"How'd you get this number?"

"Your scent's all over the cellphone store. Of course, I can't smell you now. Where are you?"

"Well, I guess you'll just have to find us, won't you."

"I'd rather you come to me."

"What's the matter, Gordo? You're not afraid of us, are you? We're just sitting here. Bring it on."

" _I don't think so._ " Gordon said, moving the phone away to ragged breathing. " _Talk._ "

" _No._ " Tori mumbled. My heart dropped as I heard her voice, looking over to Sam as I practically stopped breathing.

" _Talk!_ "

" _Dean, just leave! Take Sam and go!_ " Tori cried as anger flared through me.

" _Now, now. Don't give them any ideas._ " Gordon mumbled. " _Factory on riverside off the turnpike. Be here in twenty minutes or the she dies._ "

"Gordon, let her go." I said through gritted teeth. "If you know what's good for you, you'll let her go. Now."

" _If you know what's good for her, you'll come here._ " He said, hanging up.

"Shit." I hissed, throwing the phone across the room.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Sam asked.

"He's got Tori."

* * *

 **WAREHOUSE – NIGHT  
** TPOV

Gordon crouched next to me as I leaned against the wall. There was just a little bit of rope left around my wrists, and if I just had a little more time before, I would've been able to cut myself loose.

"So, what now? They get here and you still kill me?" I asked. "Kill us all?"

"I want Sam."

"You know that if you kill Sam you'll have Dean Winchester on your ass for the rest of forever."

"No, I won't."

"Oh, yeah? You don't know Dean then."

"Oh, I know Dean." He nodded. "And I know that he's going to die."

"How do you know that?" I asked, swallowing hard.

"Those demons I tortured? They know quite a lot of information." Gordon mumbled. "How are you going to deal with that? Both Sam and Dean gone from your life."

"That's not gonna happen."

"Is it? Once Dean's time is up, it's up. There's not saving him. Either of them." Gordon glared, leaning forward. "They'll be dead and you'll be alone."

"Fuck you!" I snapped, spitting in his face, feeling a flair of anger go off inside me. Gordon grabbed my throat, pushing me back against the wall again as he wiped my spit off. "If you let me out of this alive, I swear, it'll be the biggest mistake of your life. I _will_ kill you."

"Well, I'm afraid you won't be able to get your revenge after all."

"Why not?" I asked, struggling to take a full breath with his hand around my throat.

"After I kill Sam, I'm going to kill myself. I'm a monster now-"

" _Now_? You try to make it sound like this is all brand new. But guess what, Gordon? You were one before, too." I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

Gordon glared at me, looking down to the time on his watch. "They'll be here soon. I think it's time."

"Time for what?" I asked, a nervous feeling falling into the pit of my stomach as he moved to his knees, staring over me.

"Time for many things. One of them being _my_ revenge." Gordon said, taking a knife, slicing his wrist.

I watched with wide eyes as the blood started to drip. Gordon grabbed my cheeks with his free hand, shoving his wrist to my lips as I struggled against him, trying to keep my mouth shut. I kicked wildly, hoping I could hit him at least once, but I never connected with anything but air and the floor.

After a few more moments of struggling, Gordon leaned back, a furious look in his eyes.

"You're not going to make this easy are you."

"Go screw yourself." I spat through my still-closed, blood covered lips.

Gordon angrily cut his wrist again, creating a bigger wound and more blood. I tried to fight back as much as possible as he roughly grabbed my face, my adrenaline giving me enough strength to break the rest of the rope.

Once I was free, I pushed Gordon away with all the strength I could muster, scrambling to my feet as he fell back, caught off guard. I made sure to wipe the blood off on my sleeve as I went so none of it got into my mouth.

Suddenly, Gordon grabbed my ankle, scratching my skin and digging his nails in as he pulled me back down. I grimaced in pain as my wounded arm hit the ground hard and fresh blood poured out of it. As Gordon stared at the puddle of blood, I kicked him hard in the face a few times, digging my nails into the floorboards to try and stop myself from being dragged towards him anymore.

After kicking him quite a few times, it seemed as though he was unconscious. Whether he was pretending or not, I didn't know. But I didn't waste time, getting up and rushing over to the doorway just as Sam and Dean appeared there. Dean took in my bloody appearance his eyes going wide as he pulled me to him.

"We have to get out of here!" I exclaimed. Dean kept me close to him and as soon as we stepped outside, a mechanized door slammed down, cutting Sam off from us, leaving him trapped inside.

"Sam!" Dean called.

"Sam!" I screamed the both of us pounding on the door, trying to break it open. "Be careful!"

* * *

SPOV

Just as I turned from the door, the lights cut out. I pulled up my machete, holding my arm out in front of me to try and guide myself through the darkness.

"Gordon! You got me where you want me. You might as well come out and fight!" I called.

"I'm right here, Sam." Gordon's voice sounded behind me. I quickly turned, swiping the blade through the air, hitting nothing. "What's the matter, Sammy?"

"So, this is really the way you want to do it, huh?"

"Damn right I do." Gordon said. "You have no idea what I faced to get here. I lost everything. My life. But it's worth it, 'cause I'm finally gonna kill the most dangerous thing I ever hunted. You're not human, Sam."

"Look who's talking." I scoffed.

"You're right. I'm a bloodthirsty killer."

"Don't talk about it like you don't have a choice."

"I don't."

"Yes you do, Gordon." I said, still trying to find my way though the dark. "You didn't kill Tori."

"You're right, I didn't. I did something much worse."

"What?" I asked, fearing the worst. "What did you do!?"

"I tortured her." Gordon muttered simply. "After I get rid of you, she'll want revenge. But she'll never get it. And that'll kill her."

* * *

TPOV 

Every attempt Dean and I made to try and get inside didn't work at all. We'd barely even made a dent in the door.

"There's gotta be another way inside!" I said, looking around the building.

"Yeah." Dean nodded.

Suddenly Gordon and Sam came flying through the metal door, landing on the hard ground. Gordon grabbed Sam, throwing him across the room, where he landed hard, clearly dazed. Dean rushed up behind him, pointing the Colt to the back of his head.

Gordon moved fast, grabbing Dean's arm, flinging him across the room as well before pinning him against the wall, sinking his teeth into his neck.

"No!" I screamed, grabbing a large, iron bar, charging at him. I hit him over the back of the head with it, but it didn't seem to do much other than annoy him.

At the very least he turned away from Dean, pushing me back down to the ground as he turned. I hit the floor hard, nearly smacking my head as Sam ran up. Gordon took him and threw down onto a workbench, placing his hands around his throat.

Fighting through the pain, I stalked inside, scanning the room quickly, grabbing a few pieces of cloth and a barbed wire that were lying around.

Without giving it another thought, I went up behind Gordon, wrapping the cord around his throat. He struggled against me, letting go of Sam. I kicked the back of his knee with my foot, causing his leg to buckle, sending his knees crashing to the ground. With more leverage, I pulled the wire tighter, hearing it start ripping through his flesh as Gordon gurgled, trying to grab me.

He hurt my family. He tried to kill them. He tried to turn me into a fucking monster. All that, it ends now.

All my pent up anger accumulating over everything that had happened to us over the past...I don't even know how long, allowed me to pull harder on both sides of the wire until it broke through his neck, sending his head flying to the ground with a thud.

I stared down at it for a moment, swallowing hard, shaking when I realized what I'd just done. I dropped the wire from my blood covered hands, looking up to see Sam and Dean staring at me with wide eyes.

"Guys...I-" I stopped, not knowing what to say.

Sam glanced down to Gordon, looking up at me. "How- how did you do that?"

"I don't know." I murmured as Dean walked a little bit closer. I went over to him, burying my face in his chest.

"You just charged a super-vamped-out Gordon with no weapon." Dean said, looking down at me. "That's a little reckless, don't you think?"

* * *

 **ROAD – DAY**

Once all our injuries had been patched up, we headed back out, only to be stuck on the side of the road after the Impala sputtered to a stop near a ditch. Sam went around to the backseat to grab a cooler, pulling out a few beers, bringing them back over as I stood next to Dean, watching as he leaned under the hoot, poking around at one of the belts.

"Did you figure out whats making that rattle" I asked.

"No." Dean sighed.

"Here you go." Sam said, handing us each a beer.

"Thanks." Dean nodded, taking a sip before handing me the bottle, nodding over to Sam. "Give me a box wrench, would you?"

"Yeah. There you go." Sam said, handing it to him.

"Thanks." Dean said, staring down at it for a moment. "Sam."

"Wrong one?"

"No, no, come here for a second."

"Yeah?" Sam asked, leaning over the car with Dean.

"This rattle could be a couple of things. I'm thinking it's an out-of-tune carb."

"Okay."

"Alright, see this thing? It's a valve cover. Inside are all the parts that are on the head. Alright, you with me so far?"

"Yeah, uh, valve cover covers the heads." Sam nodded, glancing up at me with a strange look. I smiled at him, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over.

I knew exactly what Dean was doing, and why he was doing it. And while it was sweet, it broke my heart.

"Very good. Now this is your intake manifold, okay, and on top of it?" Dean asked, quizzing him.

"It's, uh, a carburetor."

"Carburetor." Dean nodded, a proud smile on his face.

"Yeah."

"Very good."

"What's with the auto shop?" Sam asked, staring down at the wreck Dean held out to him in disbelief. "What, you don't mean you want-"

"Yeah, I do. You fix it."

"Dean, you barely let me drive this thing."

"Well, it's time. You should know how to fix it. I mean, Tori already knows how, but if she needs help she won't want to deal with your annoying ass not knowing anything." Dean said with a smile, a more sincere look crossing his face as he looked up to Sam. "And besides, that's my job, right? Show my little brother the ropes?"

Sam nodded, taking the wrench as he swallowed back some emotion, leaning in towards the engine. Dean sat back, glancing over at me. I shot him a small smile, still trying to keep my tears at bay.

It was still so hard to believe everything that had happened to us. I almost felt as though I'd wake up and have it all be a dream. In my mind, there was no way Dean could ever leave us. Not willingly, at least.

As I thought back on it, in some strange way, I almost felt bad for what I'd done to Gordon. But at the same exact time, I couldn't. Because at the end of the day, I did exactly what needed to be done to protect the people I loved. I thought that Sam had changed, but maybe he wasn't the only one.

I'd do anything for them, no matter what it takes. And though things have always been that way, I realized now how deep that actually went. I'd literally do whatever, even if it meant doing the same thing I did back there. That's just the way things are now.

And that's the way they'll always be.

* * *

 **Changes are coming…  
**

 **And I have a question! Which character(s) are you most excited to see Tori interact with in the future? I'm just curious to know :D**

 **This is the last pre-written chapter that I did, so the updates may be back to only one chapter a day for a bit. But you never know!**

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction**


	8. A Very Supernatural Christmas

_Well the month December has come too soon again  
And the past is only something we remember  
Without giving in  
Giving in, giving in  
All this holiday cheer is bringing me down  
What I want for Christmas is something I found  
To be too hard  
Why is it so, so, so, so hard  
To lighten my mood_

 _..._

 _I don't want a blue, blue, blue Christmas_  
 _That's something I won't last_  
 _And I, and I  
I don't want that feeling  
Not this year again  
No matter how innocent, we can all feel a little lost _

…

' _Cause it helps me not to wonder why  
And it helps me a little at a time  
It helps me when I feel uninspired  
It helps me feel more like a child  
How cynical, we can all be a little critical_

 _It never snows in Los Angeles_  
 _But it rains, it rains cold rain_  
 _It never snows in Los Angeles_  
 _Would you please just give me this?_  
 _I'll take more than a miracle_

 _ **Dead Sara – Snow in Los Angeles**_

* * *

Usually this time of year always made me feel a little bit happier, bringing back good memories of Rose and Peter and my first year with the Winchesters. But this year, however, was much, much different. Because this was the last Christmas I'd ever get to spend with Dean.

Not that we ever really _did_ anything for it, but it was just the point. It showed how much closer we were getting to that one year mark. I couldn't believe how fast the time had gone by.

Currently, we were in Michigan speaking to the wife of a man who had gone missing from his home the other night. Truthfully, I didn't want to be here right now. I didn't want to be doing any of this. But I did what I had to, I kept up a facade – all for Dean.

"My daughter and I were in our beds. Mike was downstairs decorating the tree. I heard a thump on the roof and then I heard Mike scream. And now I'm talking to the FBI." The woman muttered.

"And you didn't see anything? At all?" I asked.

"No. He was- he was just gone..."

"The doors were locked?" Dean asked. "There was no forced entry?"

"That's right."

"Does anybody else have a key?"

"My parents."

"Well, where do they live?"

"Florida." She said, looking to the ground. I nodded, glancing up at Dean with sad eyes. I couldn't imagine what she was going through right now...or maybe I could.

"Thanks for letting me have a look around, Mrs. Walsh." Sam said, coming out of her house. "I think we, uh, got just about everything we need. We're all set."

"We'll be in touch." Dean said.

"Okay." Mrs. Walsh nodded. "Agents?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"The police said my husband might have been kidnapped."

"Maybe."

"Then why haven't the kidnappers called? O- or demanded a ransom? It's three days till Christmas. What am I supposed to tell our daughter?" She asked, tears in her eyes. I looked down, not quite knowing what to say.

"We're very sorry." Sam muttered, shooting her a sad smile as she turned and walked back inside.

The three of us made our way down the porch steps, walking down the small pathway back to the Impala that was parked near the sidewalk.

"Find anything?" Dean asked, looking up at Sam.

"Stocking, mistletoe…" Sam sighed, grabbing something out of his pocket, holding it up. "And this."

"A tooth?" I asked staring at it.

"Where was this?" Dean asked, taking it from him.

"In the chimney." Sam replied.

"Chimney? No way a man fits up a chimney. It's too narrow." Dean said, making a morbid though come to mind.

"Not in one piece." I mumbled.

"Uh, good point." Dean nodded. "Alright, so, if dad went up the chimney-"

"We need to find out what dragged him up there." Sam finished.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

After some time spent back at the motel doing some research of our own, Sam and I had come up with a possible idea of what might be doing all the kidnapping around here. Though we weren't quite sure Dean would buy it. Hell, I wasn't even sure I bought it.

"So, was I right? Is it the serial-killing chimney sweep?" Dean asked as he entered the room.

"Yup. It's actually _Dick Van Dyke_." Sam muttered, a small grin on his lips. I laughed lightly, shaking my head.

"Who?" Dean asked, completely lost.

" _Mary Poppins…?"_

"Who's that?"

"Oh come on- never mind." Sam waved him off, going back to the computer in front of him.

"Well, it turns out that Walsh is the second guy in town grabbed out of his house this month."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yup."

"Was the other guy dragged up the chimney, too?"

"Don't know. Witnesses said they heard a thump on the roof." Dean shrugged. "So, what the hell do you think we're dealing with?"

"Actually, Sam and I might have an idea." I said. "It's a little crazy, though."

"What could you possibly say that sounds crazy to me?" Dean asked, looking over at me incredulously.

"Evil Santa." I muttered, shooting him a small smile.

"Yeah, that's crazy."

"Crazy, but it could be right." Sam said, handing Dean a few pictures. "I mean, there's some version of the anti-Claus in every culture. You got Belsnickel, Krampus, Black Peter."

"Whatever you want to call it, there's all sorts of lore." I added.

"Saying what?" Dean asked.

"That essentially, a while back Santa's brother went rogue and now he shows up every Christmas, punishing the wicked."

"By hauling their ass up chimneys?"

"I guess, yeah."

"So, this is your theory, huh? Santa's shady brother?"

"Well, it might be something." I shrugged.

"I think it's worth checking into." Sam agreed.

"Okay, but Santa doesn't have a brother." Dean said. "There is no Santa."

"Yeah, I know. You're the one who told me that in the first place, remember?" Sam asked, an eyebrow raised. Dean looked down, a slightly guilty look on his face.

"Okay, Santa's not real. We're adults. We can get over that, I think." I said, shaking my head at them. "This is probably wrong, anyway."

"Maybe not." Dean muttered.

"Why?"

"I did a little digging. Turns out both victims visited the same place before they got snatched."

"Where?"

* * *

 **SANTA'S VILLAGE – DAY**

Loud Christmas music played throughout the large, open field, a few props set up on the grounds as children ran around playing. I was expecting it to be much colder for Michigan around this time of year, but everyone was practically dressed like it was summer.

"It does kind of lend credence to the theory, don't it?" Dean asked.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "There's one of these set up in every town around Christmas."

"Hey, about that, we should have one this year."

"Have one, what?" Sam asked.

"A Christmas."

I smiled, trying to hide my sadness for Dean's sake. "Su-"

"No, thanks." Sam scoffed.

"What?" I asked, my eyes snapping up to him.

"Come on, we'll get a tree, a little Boston market, just like when we were little." Dean said, glancing down to me. "When was the last time we did Christmas?"

"It's been a while." I nodded.

"Dean, those weren't exactly Hallmark memories for me, you know."

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked. "We had some great Christmases."

"Whose childhood are you talking about? Ours or Tori's?"

"Hey. Don't drag me into this." I muttered, folding my arms.

Dean shook his head. "Oh, come on, Sam."

"No!" Sam exclaimed, letting out a huff as his eyes softened. "Just...no."

"Alright, Grinch." Dean mumbled, walking away.

* * *

 **SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA  
Eleven years ago **

_The sound of Christmas music played throughout the house_ _along with Rose voice singing along_ _as I walked down the stairs, feeling the warmth from the fireplace as soon as I'd hit the last step, spotting Rose pulling out a few boxes of ornaments, dusting them off._ _I made my way over inside the living room, the smell of the Christmas tree hitting me immediately._

 _Rose looked up, her eyes catching mine. "Hi, honey. Ready to start?"_

" _Yeah." I nodded, grabbing a box from her. The next few hours Rose and I spent decorating the tree in twinkling lights and sparkling ornaments. It came out looking great, just like it did every other year._

" _Tori?" A strange voice called. I looked around, not seeing where it came from. "Tori! Wake up!"_

My eyes snapped open to see bright green ones staring back at me. I rubbed my eyes, looking around the room as I remembered where I was.

"You okay?" Dean asked, sitting on the foot of the bed by my feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I mumbled, pushing myself up in the bed. "What time is it?"

"After noon."

"What?!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening. "Why'd you let me sleep so late?"

"Well, we're not doing anything today." Dean shrugged.

"Yeah, but still." I said, jumping out of bed, making my way over to the closet to grab a change of clothes. I hated to say it, but I had something to prove around here, being a girl and all. And sleeping until noon didn't help me much, in my opinion.

"You were tired."

"So?"

"So, you needed to sleep."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead." I deadpanned, turning around to see Dean staring at me with a small smile. "What?"

"What?" He asked, blinking a few times.

"What's wrong?"

"N- nothing." Dean mumbled. "How do you feel?"

"Alright." I shrugged. "Where's Sam?"

"Downstairs." Dean replied, standing to his feet. "Bobby went to the store."

"Alright. I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." Dean nodded, making his way towards the door, shutting it behind him as he left.

Everyone here seemed to forget the fact that tomorrow was Christmas, something that I was kind of grateful for, considering this would be my first Christmas without Rose and Peter. I wasn't sure how to deal with that, so my best idea was to just...ignore it.

* * *

 **SANTA'S VILLAGE – DAY**  
 **Present**

We walked through the village a little more, stopping a few yards away from a small barn setup where a man wearing a Santa costume was sitting out in front on a big, red chair.

"You'd think with the ten bucks it costs to get into this place, Santa could scrounge up a little snow." Dean mumbled, looking down at the dry, brown grass. "So what are we looking for, again?"

"Well, the lore says the anti-Claus will walk with a limp and smell like sweets." Sam said.

"Great. So we're looking for a pimp Santa. Why the sweets?"

"Think about it, Dean. If you smell like candy, kids will come closer, you know?"

"That's super creepy." I mumbled.

"How does this thing know who's been naughty and who's been nice?" Dean asked.

"I don't know."

A woman and her son walked up to the Santa then, the boy standing there rather awkwardly as he looked up at the man.

"So, Ronny, come sit on Santa's knee." Santa smiled, patting his leg. The boy stepped closer, sitting up on the edge of his knee. "Ah, there you go. You been a good boy this year?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Santa's got a special gift for you." Santa grinned, cackling loudly.

My eyes widened as I stared, looking up to Dean and Sam with discomfort. "This is weird as hell."

"Come on, honey, let's go." The woman said, practically ripping her son off the man's lap.

Another woman in an elf costume walked up to us, a rather unenthusiastic smile on her face. "Welcome to Santa's court. Can I escort your child to Santa?"

"No. Uh, but actually my brother here, it's been a lifelong dream of his." Dean said, smacking Sam on the shoulder.

The woman looked up at Sam like he was a freak, a grimace on her face. "Sorry, no kids over twelve."

"No, he's just kidding. We only came here to watch." Sam grinned, his smile disappearing when he realized how that just sounded. I threw my head into one of my hands, not wanting to see the disgust on the girls face.

"Ew."

"I- I didn't mean that we came here to wa-" Sam stopped as she walked away, not looking back. "Thanks a lot, Dean. Thanks for that."

"You're welcome." Dean laughed.

"Hey, look." I nudged them, pointing to the Santa as he leaved his chair, limping away.

"A lot of people walk with limps, right?" Sam asked.

"Tell me you didn't smell that. That was candy, man."

"That was Ripple. I think. Had to be."

"Maybe. We're willing to take that chance?"

* * *

 **HOUSE – NIGHT**

Letting out a sigh, I leaned against the door of the Impala, feeling my legs cramping up by the second. We'd been parked out in front of Santa's lit up trailer for the past five hours and not one single thing had happened. I was just about ready to fall asleep.

"What time is it?" Dean asked.

"Same as when you asked two seconds ago." I mumbled, downing my coffee in one gulp before pouring him a cup. "Here."

"Thanks." Dean mumbled, glancing at Sam in the backseat. "Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you the boy that hates Christmas?"

"Dean..."

"I mean, I admit it. You know, we had a few bumpy holidays when we were kids."

" _Bumpy_?"

"That was then. We'll do it right this year."

"Look, Dean, I know Tori would do this. So, if you two want to have Christmas, knock yourself out. Just don't involve me."

Dean glanced over at me, a sad look in his eyes. I placed my hand on his knee, shooting him a sad smile. I knew how Sam felt, but as far as I was concerned, our feelings didn't matter right now. Dean was the one that was leaving. This was his time.

"What's up with Saint Nicotine?" Dean asked, watching the man as he opened the curtains, looking around outside before shutting them quickly.

"Oh, my god!" A woman's voice echoed through the air from the house.

We hurried out of the Impala, rushing over to the house with our guns drawn. I peeked inside the frosted window on the front door, not seeing anything.

"Huh." Sam sighed, glancing over at Dean.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just that, well, you know, _Mr. Gung Ho Christmas_ might have to blow away Santa."

"Sam, shut up." I snapped, rolling my eyes at him as Dean moved in front, kicking the door open.

Heading inside, Santa stood up, holding a giant bong in one hand and bottle of whiskey in the other. I looked around, noticing that there was no woman in here, just a bad Christmas themed porn movie playing on the TV.

" _I'm really not interested, okay?"_ The man said. " _Mistle my toe. Roast my chestnut. Egg my nog."_ The woman replied in a seductive voice. " _Jingle my bells?"_

"What the hell are you doing here?" Santa asked.

"Uh..." Dean mumbled.

"We are...caroling!" I said.

"What?"

"Yeah." I nodded, looking back to the man with an awkward smile as I started to sing. "Silent night. Holy night."

Sam and Dean glanced down at me nervously, looking back up with forced smiles as they joined in. "All is calm. All is-"

"Dry!" Santa chimed in, slurring his words.

"Bright." I corrected in a hushed tone.

"Round and round the table..." The boys sang, completely messing up the words. I smiled at the man again, grabbing the backs of Sam and Dean's jackets, dragging them back outside.

"Santa was watching porn. I need to wrap my head around that." I mumbled. "I think that was the worst version of _Silent Night_ I have ever heard."

* * *

 **INDIANA – NIGHT  
Eleven ****years ago**

Once I'd gotten dressed, I made my way downstairs, finding Sam and Dean sitting on Bobby's couch, staring over at the TV. I passed by them, going into the kitchen to make some coffee. I heard a loud thump on the porch, staring to go over to the door when I heard Dean run up behind me, grabbing my arm.

"What?" I asked, turning around to face him.

"Hey, wanna go shoot?"

"I think Bobby needs help-"

"He's fine, he's got Sam." Dean said, practically dragging me over to the backdoor. I shook my arm out of his grasp, causing him to stop mid-step.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing!"

"Really? Why'd your voice get all squeaky then?"

"Puberty." Dean joked, letting out a nervous laugh.

"Late bloomer?" I asked, trying to hold my laughter in as his fake confident smile dropped completely.

"Uh- well, no-"

"I'm kidding." I said, rolling my eyes. "What's going on?"

"Seriously, nothing. I just figured that since we're here and it's an off day, we could go practice a little. Not that you need it, you're a wicked shot."

"I know."

"Well, maybe you could teach me a few things."

"I probably could." I smiled. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

 **CALDWELL HOME – DAY  
Present **

Everything seemed to be going to completely shit in this town since we'd gotten here. I wasn't sure if that was because of our amazing timing or, at this point, just because of _us._

"So, that's how your son described the attack?" Dean asked the woman, another victim in a similar situation as the other wife. " _Santa took daddy up the chimney_?"

"That's what he says, yes." Mrs. Caldwell muttered, holding her hand above the bruise on her eye.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"I was sleep and all of a sudden I was being dragged out of bed, screaming."

"Did you see the attacker?" Sam asked.

"It was dark, and he hit me. He knocked me out." She sniffed.

"I'm sorry, I know this is hard." Dean muttered.

"It is."

"Well, we'll certainly let you know if we find anything out." Sam told her with a smile.

"Thank you." She nodded. I looked up, a wreath hanging above the fireplace catching my eye.

"Mrs. Caldwell, where did you get the wreath over there?" I asked. Dean and Sam both looked up at the wreath, glancing back to me with questioning looks.

"Excuse me?" She asked, blinking a few times.

"I'm sorry, I was just curious." I shrugged, looking a little embarrassed.

"At the local Christmas shop not too long ago." She muttered.

"Oh, okay then." I shot her an apologetic smile. "Again, I'm extremely sorry for your loss. We'll try to get this figured out for you."

"Yes. Thank you." She nodded, leading us to the door. I stepped out first, hearing Sam and Dean walk down the pathway behind me as she closed the door.

"Wreaths, huh?" Dean asked, walking over to my side. "Sure you didn't want to ask her about her shoes? I saw some nice handbags in the foyer."

"Oh, you noticed her handbags? Want one?" I asked, glancing up at him with a challenging look.

"No." Dean mumbled, clearly not having a better comeback.

"Listen, I've seen that wreath before."

"Where?"

"The Walshe's. They had it hanging on their front door."

"I know." Dean lied. "I was just testing you."

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

Back inside the motel room, Sam was sitting in front of the laptop, speaking on the phone with Bobby, who we'd gone to for advice. He knew pretty much everything there was to know about anything, and thankfully was always willing to help us.

"Yeah, alright. Well, keep looking, would you? Thanks, Bobby." Sam hung up, turning towards Dean and I. "Well… we're not dealing with the anti-Claus."

"What did Bobby say?" Dean asked.

"That we're morons."

"Sounds about right." I mumbled.

"He also said that it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths." Sam said, turning back to his laptop.

"Wow. Amazing." Dean nodded. "What the hell is meadowsweet?"

"It's pretty rare and it's probably the most powerful plant in pagan lore. See, they used meadowsweet for human sacrifice. It was kind of like a chum for their gods. Gods were drawn to it and they'd stop by and snack on whatever was the nearest human."

"Why would somebody be using that for Christmas wreaths?"

"It's not as crazy as it sounds." I shrugged. "Pretty much every Christmas tradition is pagan."

"Christmas is Jesus's birthday."

"Nope. Jesus's birthday was probably in the fall. Actually, the winter solstice festival was co-opted by the church and renamed Christmas. But the yule log, the tree. Even Santa's suit, that's all remnants of pagan worship."

"How do you know that?" Dean asked incredulously I just shrugged, not having an answer. "What are you gonna tell me next? Easter bunny's Jewish?"

"Well. the Easter bunny isn't real. But most Easter traditions are pagan also."

"Alright, you're ruining like every holiday for me now." Dean mumbled, looking over at Sam as I chuckled. "So you think we're gonna dealing with a pagan God?"

"Yeah, probably Hold Nickar, God of the winter solstice." Sam replied.

"And all these Martha Stewart wannabes, buying these fancy wreaths…"

"Yeah, it's pretty much like putting a neon sign on your front door saying _come kill us_." Sam said, looking through an article on his laptop. "When you sacrifice to Hold Nickar, guess what he gives you in return?"

"Lap dances, hopefully." Dean muttered sarcastically.

"Mild weather."

"Like no snow in the middle of December in Michigan." I said.

"For instance."

"Do we know how to kill it yet?" Dean asked.

"No, Bobby's working on that right now. We got to go to where they're selling those wreaths."

"You think they're selling them on purpose? Feeding the victims to this thing?"

"Let's find out."

* * *

 **CHRISTMAS SHOP – DAY**

More Christmas music filled the air as we entered the small shop in town. All of the decorations crowded the tiny space, making it a little difficult to walk through.

"Can I help you kids?" The older man behind the counter asked.

"Hope so. We were playing Jenga over at the Walshes' the other night, and, well, she hasn't shut up since about this Christmas wreath." Dean said, glancing down at me. "I don't know, you tell him."

"Right. Um, it was just...beautiful." I smiled.

"I sell a lot of wreaths."

"Okay, but this one was special. It had green leaves and white buds on it. It might have been made of meadowsweet?"

"Well, aren't you a fussy one?"

"Well, excuse you." I muttered, narrowing my eyes at the man as he turned around. "I could go somewhere else to buy my pagan god bait."

"What?" The man asked, looking back at me strangely.

"Nothing."

"Uh, alright. Anyway, I know the one you're talking about. I'm all out."

"Seems like this meadowsweet stuff's pretty rare and expensive. Why make wreaths out of it?" Dean asked.

"Beats me." He shrugged. "I didn't make them."

"Who did?"

"Madge Carrigan, a local lady. She said the wreaths were so special, she gave them to me for free."

"She didn't charge you?" Sam asked.

"Nope."

"Did you sell them for free?" I asked.

"Hell no. It's Christmas. People pay an assload for this crap."

"That's the spirit." Dean mumbled sarcastically as we exited the store, making our way back down the sidewalk. "How much do you think a meadowsweet wreath would cost?"

"A couple hundred, probably." I replied.

"This lady's giving them away for free? What do you think about that?"

"I think it's pretty shady."

"Guess we should go check them out, huh?"

"Probably." I shrugged.

"Alright. Tori and I will go. You head back to the motel, see if Bobby's figured anything out yet."

"Sure." Sam nodded, turning to walk in the other direction back to the Impala. Dean and I decided to walk to the Carrigan's house, considering it wasn't too far away from the shop.

"So..." Dean muttered, glancing over at me.

"What?"

"I don't know."

"What's wrong?"

"You okay?" Dean asked, looking down at me with worried eyes.

"Yeah." I mumbled, looking away so he couldn't see my eyes. "I'm fine."

"Tori. Tell me the truth." Dean said, stopping us along a sidewalk in front of a few houses.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Just tell me what's wrong. I know something's wrong."

"You know what's wrong." I sighed. "I'm trying to be strong here, Dean."

"You don't have to be strong for me." Dean muttered, pulling me to him.

"Yes, I do. You were always strong for me." I said, looking up at him. "Come on, let's get this over with."

The two of us made our way up the pathway to a small front porch, knocking on the deep red front door.

"This is where Mrs. Wreath lives, huh? Can't you just feel the evil pagan vibe?" Dean asked as an old woman with a short gray bob, wearing a rather ugly Christmas sweater answered the door, looking up at us in question.

"Yes?"

"Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan who makes the meadowsweet wreaths."

"Why, yes, I am."

"Ha! Bingo." Dean exclaimed, smiling over at me.

"Well, we were just admiring your wreaths in Mr. Sylar's place the other day." I told her.

"You were?" She asked, a smile on her face. "Well, isn't that meadowsweet just the finest-smelling thing you ever smelled?"

"Oh, it is. But the problem is that all your wreaths had sold out before we even got the change to buy one."

"Oh, fudge!" She exclaimed.

"Exactly what I said." I muttered, forcing a smile at her.

"You wouldn't have another one that we could buy from you, would you?" Dean asked.

"Oh, no, I'm afraid those were the only ones I had for this season."

"Oh, well, tell me something, why did you decide to make them out of meadowsweet?"

"Why, the smell, of course! I don't think I've ever smelled anything finer." She said.

"Yeah, you mentioned that." I said.

"What's going on, honey?" The man asked, walking down the flight of stairs behind Madge, an old-fashioned pipe in his hand.

"Well, just a nice young couple asking about my wreaths, dear."

"Oh, the wreaths are fine. Fine wreaths. Care for some peanut brittle?" He asked, holding out a tin. Dean reached out to take some, but I quickly slapped his hand away, smiling at the couple.

"No thanks, we're good."

I don't know why, I just didn't get a good feeling from them. They were sending me some seriously creepy vibes.

"Oh, well it was just wonderful to meet you!"

"Right, yeah." I smiled, waving. "Bye."

"Goodbye." She smiled shutting the door.

I grabbed Dean's arm, pulling him down the steps with me. "My god, they were..."

"Creepy as fuck?" Dean suggested, glancing over at me.

"Yeah, just a little."

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT**

Once we'd gotten back to the motel, it was just getting dark outside. Sam had been working hard on the evergreen stakes Bobby had told him we needed to kill the god since we'd been gone. I immediately went on the laptop, looking up the Carrigans.

"I knew it!" I said, skimming through a page on the computer. "Something was off with those two."

"What happened?" Dean asked.

"The Carrigans lived in Seattle last year, where two abductions took place right around Christmas." I explained. "They moved here in January. And all that Christmas stuff in their house, it was vervain and mint."

"Pagan stuff?" Dean asked.

"Serious pagan stuff."

"So what, Ozzie and Harriet are keeping a pagan god hidden underneath their plastic-covered couch?"

"I don't know, but we have to check them out." I said.

"Bobby's sure evergreen stakes will kill this thing, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, he's sure."

"Okay." Sam nodded.

"Hey, remember that wreath Dad brought home that one year?" Dean asked out of the blue, looking over at Sam.

"You mean the one he stole from, like, a liquor store?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, glancing over at me with a smile. "It was a bunch of empty beer cans."

"Sounds...classy." I grinned.

"Well, I bet if I looked around hard enough, I could probably find one just like it."

"Alright, dude…what's going on with you?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"I mean, since when are you _Bing Crosby_ all of a sudden? Why do you want Christmas so bad?" Sam asked, stopping us all from walking.

"Why are you so against it? I mean, were your childhood memories that traumatic?"

"No, that has nothing to do with it."

"Then what?"

"I-I mean, I-I just, I don't get it. You haven't talked about Christmas in years."

"Well, yeah. This is my last year." Dean said. I looked down, staring at the ground.

"I know." Sam sighed. "That's why I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't just sit around, drinking eggnog, pretending everything's okay, when I know next Christmas you'll be dead." Sam said sadly, causing tears to spring to my eyes. Dean nodded, getting up, heading outside. "I'm sorry, I just don't think I can..."

"Yeah." I nodded, getting up.

"It's just- it's hard. And Christmas is – or _was_ – your favorite. Won't that- I mean, won't you have bad memories-"

"I don't care about any of that. I have a lot of bad memories, Sam." I said, tears forming in my eyes as I moved towards the door. "You know, that first few months I was with you guys? What you did? You'll never know how special that was. And I just- I just want to make him happy...for whatever time is left."

* * *

 **CARRIGAN HOUSE – NIGHT**

After a quite drive over here, Dean and I stood in front of the suburban house, seeing that it was completely dark on the inside. We made our way up to the porch for Dean to pick the lock while I watched for any people.

"I gotta admit, I'm a little nervous." I mumbled.

"Yeah. We're in." Dean muttered, pushing the door open.

As the two of us headed inside, I took in all the Christmas-y décor, my eyes widening at the amount of snow globes on the shelves. "It's like the North Pole threw up in this place."

Dean ran his hand over the top of couch, shaking his head disapprovingly. "See? Plastic. These people are horrible."

"Not because they're serving a pagan god, but because they have plastic on their couch?"

"Eh." Dean shrugged.

"Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." I said with a smile as I broke away from Dean, shining a flashlight down a long hallway to a locked door at the end. "Hey."

"What?" Dean asked, coming over to me. I nodded to the door, taking the lockpick from him. I unlocked the door, the both of us making our way down the creaky steps to the dark basement.

Once in the basement, I found a large bowl with blood covered bones inside of it, moving a little further to see that the whole downstairs was basically a butchery. I walked over to a leather bag covered in blood, shining the flashlight on it.

Just then, I felt someone grab my neck from behind, pulling me to them. I let out a surprised yell as Madge pushed me against the wall, holding me there by my throat.

"Tori!" Dean called, running over.

Just as he tried to push the stake into Madge, Carrigan grabbed his arms, slamming his head against the wall, knocking him out. Madge looked up to Carrigan, not letting up on my throat as I struggled to breathe.

"Gosh, I wish you two hadn't come down here." She muttered.

As I struggled to breathe, I shined my flashlight on their faces, my eyes widening when they changed into _ faces once the light hit. Madge pulled me away from the wall, slamming my head back into it, knocking me out.

* * *

 **KITCHEN – NIGHT**

When I started to come to, I blinked a few times, realizing Dean and I were tied to chairs, sitting back-to-back next to the table where a bunch of bowls and a knife sat.

"Dean? Dean, baby, are you okay?" I asked, looking back at him over my shoulder.

"Yeah, I think so." Dean sighed. "You?"

"Yeah."

"I guess we're dealing with Mr. and Mrs. God." I mumbled. "Nice to know."

"Yeah." Dean nodded as the Carrigan's walked back into the kitchen, dressed in colorful Christmas sweaters.

"Oh, and here we thought you two lazybones were gonna sleep straight through all the fun stuff." Madge giggled.

"And miss all this?" Dean asked. "Nah, we're partiers."

"Isn't he a kick in the pants, honey?" Carrigan asked, taking a pull from his pipe. "You're hunters, is what you are."

"And you're pagan gods. So, why don't we just call it even, and go our separate ways?"

"What, so you can bring more hunters and kill us?" He laughed. "I don't think so."

"Probably should have thought about that before you went around eating people, huh?" I asked.

"Oh now, don't get all wet."

"Yeah, ew. There's a reason people don't say that anymore." I mumbled.

"Why, we used to take over a hundred tributes a year and that's a fact." Madge said, placing a napkin on my lap before going over to Dean. "Now what do we take? What, two? Three?"

" _Laurel and Hardy_ here make five." He said.

"Now, that's not so bad, is it?"

"Well, you say it like that, I guess you guys are the Cunninghams." Dean mumbled.

"You, mister, better show us a little respect."

"Or what? You'll eat us?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not so fast." Carrigan said, looking over to Madge, who seemed to be getting excited at the very thought. "There's rituals to be followed first."

"Oh, we're just sticklers for ritual." She smiled.

"And you know what kicks off the whole shebang?"

"Let me guess, meadowsweet?" I asked as Madge nodded her head.

"Oh shucks, you're all out of wreaths." Dean said. "I guess we'll just have to cancel the sacrifice, huh?"

"Oh, don't be such a gloomy Gus." Madge smiled, grabbed a couple of wreaths out from underneath the table, putting them around our necks. "There. Don't they just look darling?"

"Good enough to eat." Carrigan smiled, pulling up a large knife. "All righty-roo. Step number two." He walked around the table, carrying the knife and a bowl over to me. I struggled against the ropes holding me to the chair as he held the bowl under my arm.

"Tor? Tori!?" Dean called, worriedly. I cried out in pain as he sliced my arm deep. Blood started pouring out of the wound into the bowl. "Leave her alone, you fucking son of a bitch!"

"Hear how they talk to us? To Gods? Listen, pal, back in the day, we were worshiped by millions."

"Times have changed!"

"Tell me about it. All of a sudden, this Jesus character is the hot new thing in town. All of a sudden, our altars are being burned down, and we're being hunted down like common monsters."

"But did we say a peep? Oh, no, we did not." Madge muttered, throwing something into the bowl with my blood. "Two millennium. We kept a low profile. We got jobs, a mortgage. Wh- what was that word, dear?"

"We assimilated."

"Yeah, we _assimilated_. Why, we play bridge on Tuesday and Fridays. We're just like everybody else."

"Yeah, well, you're not doing that great of a job at blending in." I mumbled.

"This might pinch a bit, dear." Madge muttered, moving closer to Dean's arm with the knife.

"Don't touch him you fucking bitch!"

"Oh, my goodness me!" Madge exclaimed, walking around, staring down at me. "Somebody owes a nickel to the swear jar." I glared at her as she went back to Dean, slicing his arm. He let out a muffled scream as she continued. "Do you know what I say when I feel like swearing? Fudge."

"We'll try and remember that." Dean panted.

"You two have no idea how lucky you are." Carrigan said, standing in front of me with a pair of pliers. "There was a time when kids came from miles around, just to be sitting where you are."

"What are you doing?" I asked, my eyes darting down to the tool nervously as he smiled.

"You fudging touch me again and I'll fudging kill you!" Dean yelled at Madge.

"Very good!" She smiled, slicing Dean's other arm. He groaned out in pain behind me as Carrigan grabbed my hand, grabbing my fingernail with the pliers.

"No, no..." I mumbled, shutting my eyes tightly, letting out a scream as he ripped my nail off.

"Oh, we got a winner!" He smiled, holding up the bloody nail. I glanced down at my blood covered finger, grimacing.

"What else, dear?" Madge asked as Carrigan put everything into a bowl, stirring it.

"Well, let's see. Uh, fingernail, blood. Oh, sweet Peter on a popsicle stick…" He laughed. "I forgot the tooth."

"Oh, dear!"

"Merry Christmas, babe." Dean muttered.

"Yeah." I glanced up at Carrigan as he walked over to Dean with the same pliers he'd pulled my nail off with, grabbing his chin. "You guys really fucking suck."

"No more cussing! Didn't your mother ever teach you any manors?" Madge asked, walking over to me.

Out of the corner of my eye that Carrigan was putting the pliers in Dean's mouth. "Open wide and say ah."

"Fuck you!" I spat. Madge gasped, slapping me hard across the face. Just then the doorbell rang, stopping everything.

"Somebody gonna get that?" Dean asked, his voice muffled around the pliers. "You should get that."

"Come on." Carrigan sighed, both him and Madge leaving the room.

"Merry Christmas!" I heard a woman call excitedly from the front of the house.

"Okay." I nodded, swallowing hard as I looked for a way out of here. I reached across the table, grabbing the knife with my teeth, shakily reach down to try and cut the rope at my wrists.

Once I'd broken through enough, I pulled my arm up, breaking the rope. I grabbed the knife and went to work on the other parts of the rope until I was cut loose. I rushed around to Dean, cutting his ropes loose.

"Now, where were we?" Madge asked, the two of them entering the kitchen as we went into one of the other rooms, the door closing behind us. Dean pulled a drawer out in front of the door to old it as they tried to get in.

"What do we do now?" Dean asked. "The evergreen stakes are in the basement!"

"We need more evergreen. Somehow." I said, the both of us looking over to the large Christmas tree in the middle of the room at the same time. "Come on."

We quickly broke some of the thicker branches off the bottom of the tree, knocking it over in the process. We slowly walked over to the kitchen door, opening it carefully. Just as Dean took a few steps out, Carrigan tackled him.

Madge walked over to me, shaking her head. "You little thing. I loved that tree."

Before I could raise the stake, she grabbed me, throwing me down onto the floor. I glanced over, seeing Carrigan punching Dean. After a little bit of struggling, I hit Madge with the leaves of the branch, shoving her off of me before plunging the tree branch into her chest.

"Madge!" Carrigan screamed, the death of his wife distracting him long around for Dean to shove the tree branch into his chest, making him fall to the ground.

Dean came over to me, helping me up off the ground, holding me against his side. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "You?"

"Yeah."

"Merry Christmas."

* * *

 **SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA – NIGHT  
Eleven years ago**

It'd gotten dark out by the time Dean and I were finished with our target practice. I was pretty proud to say that I'd beaten him in the amount of cans and bottles shot. I hit just about every single on on the first try.

"Good job." Dean smiled, nudging my shoulder with his.

"Thanks." I said, a small smile on my face. I glanced up to the house, seeing an unfamiliar set of lights in the house. "What's that?"

"I don't know. Let's go see."

Once we'd gotten back to the house, Dean opened the door for me, gesturing for me to walk in first. I made my way into the kitchen, freezing in place as I took in the sight in front of me in the living room. The desk was moved over so the lit fireplace could be seen, a large Christmas tree near it, decorated with a bunch of lights. Bobby stood over by the desk, a plate of cookies sitting next to him. Sam sat on the couch, smiling over at me.

"Merry Christmas." Dean muttered behind me. I glanced back at him, tears in my eyes.

I was speechless.

"It was all his idea." Bobby said, nodding to Dean.

"But the cookies were my idea." Sam chimed in. "Dean wanted us to bake them, but I didn't want to burn Bobby's house down, so we bought them instead."

"Do you like it?" Dean asked, worry crossing his features when he noticed I was staring to cry. "I- I'm sorry, I thought you'd like it-"

Without letting him finish, I thew myself into his arms, hugging him tightly as tears streamed down my cheeks. I felt him freeze in shock, as I had never really hugged him before, and it took him a few moments until he hugged me back.

"I love this." I said, thinking back to Rose and Peter. How much their lives meant to me.

"Really?"

"Of course! Thank you." I smiled, pulling back.

"Well, you- you're welcome." Dean chuckled nervously. Bobby cleared his throat, raising an eyebrow at the fact that Dean still had his hands on my hips. He quickly moved back, shooting me a small smile.

"This is amazing, you guys. Really."

"And uh, I got you something else." Dean said.

"No, Dean. This is enough."

"Well, too bad. 'Cause I already got it." Dean muttered, handing me a small black box. I took it, carefully opening it to see a thin, black leather bracelet sitting inside the box. "You like it?"

"Yeah." I nodded, tears streaming down my cheeks all over again. "This is so sweet, I can't believe you."

"Well, you know..." Dean shrugged, a cocky grin on his lips.

"Don't ruin it." I mumbled, sliding the bracelet onto my wrist. "This is just- I don't know."

"Christmas means a lot to you. We couldn't just let it go by without doing anything."

"I don't know what to say." I mumbled, looking between Bobby, Sam and Dean. I barely even registered the words that came out of my mouth, but once they did, it just felt...right. "I love you guys."

They all looked at me with shocked expressions, neither one of them really sure what to say to that. I didn't care though, they didn't have to say anything. Every horrible thing I've been through this past few months I thought would end my life. Instead it led be to them, people who turned my whole entire world around.

It amazed me how quickly it happened, but they were my family now. And I truly did love them.

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT  
Present  
**

For some reason, Sam had absolutely insisted on the fact that Dean and I go out to buy a case of beer. After the night we'd had through, I really just wanted to go get another room and spend some alone time with Dean. I felt like we really deserved that. Plus, I could tell Dean didn't really feel like doing it, but he couldn't say no to Sam.

As we got out of the Impala, Dean grabbed the case of beer, leaving me out in front. I opened the door, my mouth dropping open as I took in the state of the room. There was a tree all set up in the corner, lights twinkling around it and a Merry Christmas banner over it.

So this is what he was doing while we were getting out butts kicked.

"What's all this?" Dean asked, looking around the room with surprised eyes.

"What do you think it is?" Sam shrugged. "It- it's Christmas."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Uh..." Sam trailed off, shooting me a look before shoving a couple cups of eggnog into mine and Dean's hands. "Let me know if it needs some more kick."

I took a sip, nearly getting knocked to the floor by the amount alcohol in it. Dean nodded,drinking some of it. He coughed, looking down at the glass with wide eyes. "No, we're good."

"Yeah?" Sam asked happily.

"Yeah." Dean smiled, shooting me a wide-eyed, grossed out look when Sam turned away.

"I know." I mouthed.

"Good. Well, lets have a seat. Be Christmas-y or whatever." Sam sighed, sitting down. "So, I mean, since this wasn't really planned, I didn't get anything-"

"This is enough." Dean smiled, sitting next to me on the couch.

"Well, I personally do have something in mind, but I don't think it'd be right to give it to you in front of Sam." I grinned.

"Oh, yeah?" Dean smirked.

"Mhm." I nodded, lightly running my fingers over his thigh.

"Really?" Sam asked, looking down the ground with a shake of his head. "Jesus."

"Hey, Merry Christmas, bro." Dean smiled, raising his glass.

"Yeah. Yeah. Merry Christmas." Sam nodded, a sad look in his eyes. "Hey Dean, y-"

"Yeah?"

"Uh-" Sam paused. "You feel like watching the game?"

"Absolutely." Dean smiled in relief, clearly glad Sam wasn't about to bring anything up.

A silence fell over the room and I leaned into Dean's side, his arm wrapped around me as I played with the leather bracelet I still wore after all these years. I tried to take comfort in the fact that Dean was still here, but it didn't seem to help very much. Because as much as we tried to push it aside, as much as we tired to not think about it, time was running out.

And that date was coming a lot faster than we could ever be ready for.

* * *

 **Yes, I did pick a Christmas song. And yes, I know I'm dork. But no, I do not care ;D  
**

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Leave a review, if you feel like it! I love reading them!  
**

 **Let's talk about how much SPN has made us cry!**

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	9. Malleus Maleficarum

_Long lost words whisper slowly to me  
Still can't find what keeps me here  
When all this time I've been so hollow inside  
But I know you're still there _

… _.._

 _Haunting you  
I can smell you, alive  
Your heart pounding in my head _

… _._

 _Watching me, wanting me  
I can feel you pull me down  
Fearing you, loving you  
I won't let you pull me down _

_**Evanescence – Haunted**_

* * *

It was now the new year, but there were no resolutions. The only thing we did was take it day by day, trying desperately to not think about what each day passing meant. Though it was the only thing on my mind. Dean had been keeping us busy with jobs, seemingly finding things out of nowhere. I knew that no matter how much he tried to pretend, he was doing it to just keep his mind off things.

Not that I minded. Whatever helped him cope, I guess. I just wanted him to be happy.

Currently we were standing in the bedroom of Paul and Janet Dutton, checking the area after Mrs. Dutton had died in their bathroom under very suspicious circumstances. Like choking on blood and her own teeth that had suddenly started falling out.

"She was so scared. I couldn't help. I couldn't do anything to stop it. And I've talked to the police, and I've talked to the medical examiner and no one can explain it." Paul muttered.

"Well, that's why they put the call in to us Mr. Dutton." Dean nodded.

"But the CDC, that's disease control right? What do you think, it's some kind of virus?"

"We're not ruling anything out yet." I said. "Did Janet have any enemies?"

"Anyone that might have a reason to hurt her?" Dean asked.

"Wait, what are you saying? That somebody poisoned her?"

"We have to cover every base here."

"Well, I mean, what kind of poison? You think a person could have done this?"

"Would anyone want to?" I asked.

"What?! No, no. There's just no one that could've-" Paul paused, looking down for a moment. "Uh, everyone loved Janet."

Sam came back out of the bathroom then, giving Dean and I a small nod as I he stood over by the bedroom door.

"Okay. Thank you, I think we've got everything we need." I said. "We'll get out of your way."

We made our way back down the stairs towards the front door, Paul walking behind us we went. It was raining lightly as we stepped outside, the dark clouds above matching my current mood perfectly.

"That dude seem a little evasive to you?" Dean asked, glancing over at me.

"Yeah." I nodded, looking up at Sam. "Find anything?"

"This." Sam said, pulling a hex bag out of his pocket, handing it to me. We stopped at the end of the pathway as I opened the bag, looking through it contents. "Hex bag."

"Aw, gross." Dean commented, looking at the items in my hand.

"Bird bones, rabbit's teeth." I said, picking through the things. "This cloth is probably cut from something Janet owned, too."

"So we're thinking witch?" Dean asked, walking over to the driver side of the Impala.

"Uh, yeah, and not some new age wicked water douser either." Sam said, getting into the passenger side as I slid into the backseat. "This is Old World black magic Dean."

"I hate witches. They're always spewing their bodily fluids everywhere."

"Pretty much."

"It's creepy, you know, it's down right unsanitary."

"Yeah. And someone deification had it out for Janet Dutton." I said, cinching the bag shut.

"Yeah, someone who snuck into that house and planted the bag. So what are we thinking, we're uh, looking for some old craggy Blair bitch in the woods?"

"It could be anyone. That's the problem, they're human."

"Great. How do we find them?"

"This wasn't random. Someone in Janet Dutton's life had an ugly ax to grind." Sam said. "We find the motive-"

"We find the murderer." Dean finished, staring the Impala up. "I think I have a good place to start, too."

* * *

After a few hours, it was finally dark outside. My legs were completely cramping up from sitting in the Impala all day as we followed Paul around. So far, he'd done nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary. Needless to say, he was boring.

To add to the list of _interesting_ things this guy has going on in his life, we were now parked a few feet away, watching him eat a burger in his car.

"Oh, my god." Dean complained. "Go to a strip club or something."

"Dean, he just lost his wife." Sam muttered.

"Yeah." Dean scoffed. "Like he isn't banging his secretary."

Suddenly, Paul opened his door, falling out onto the pavement as he heaved. The three of us got out of the car, rushing over to him.

"Check the car!" Dean shouted, helping Paul to his feet. Sam and I both ran into the car, looking in the compartments for a hex bag. I reached underneath the driver seat, pulling up a small, red bag.

"Found it!" I exclaimed, jumping out of the car, lighting the bag on fire, letting it burn out on the concrete in blue and green flames.

"You okay?" Dean asked Paul, who leaned back on the side of his car, coughing.

"What the hell is happening to me?!" He asked.

"Someone murdered your wife and now they're trying to kill you, that's what's happening to you."

"That's impossible! There's no way-"

"If we hadn't have been following you, you'd be a doornail right now. Now who wants you dead?"

"I- uh..."

"Come on think." Dean pressed.

"There's a woman..."

"A woman, okay?"

"An affair- a mistake, she was unbalanced. She was blackmailing me and I put an end to it a week ago."

"What's her name?" Sam asked.

"Wha– what could she have to do with-"

"Answer the question!" I ordered. "What is her name?"

* * *

 **HOUSE – NIGHT**

Once Paul had finally confessed the woman's name, we found Amanda Burn's address, heading over to her house to check it out. After picking the lock, we made our way inside with our guns drawn just in case. We turned the corner to the living room, finding Amada's lifeless body lying across the table, the flames inside a small bowl still burning next to her.

"That's a curveball." Dean muttered, lifting up Amanda's arm with the barrel of his gun, spotting her slit wrists. "Three per wrist, vertical. She wasn't fooling around."

"Yeah, looks like she was working some heavyweight evil here." Sam said.

"Yup." Dean nodded, jumping back as he turned around, nearly walking face first into a dead rabbit hanging from the ceiling. "Oh god. Fucking witches! Seriously man, come on!"

"Well, I guess we know where she got the rabbit's teeth from." I said, looking up at the little creatures face with sad eyes.

"Well, Paul sure knows how to pick them huh? It's like _Fatal Attraction_ all over again."

"Yeah."

"And why does the rabbit always get screwed in the deal? The poor little guy."

"I know."

"You know what I don't get?" Sam asked. "If she was so bent on revenge, why do this?"

"Well, she got Janet Dutton, thought she finished off Paul, decided to cap herself and make it a spurned lover's hat-trick." Dean shrugged.

"Maybe." Sam mumbled, getting down on his knees to look underneath the table Amanda was lying on top of.

"I mean, this doesn't exactly look like the TV room of a bright and stable person, you know?"

"No, but then..." Sam said, pulling out another hex bag from under the table, tossing it over to me. "There's this."

"Another one? Jesus." I huffed, opening the bag to fine similar things thrown inside as the one in Janet's bathroom. "Why are witches killing each other?"

"I don't know, but I think maybe we got a coven on our hands." Sam replied.

"Great." I sighed.

"I'd like to report a dead body, three-oh-nine Mayfair Circle. My name? Yeah, sure my name is-" Dean hung up the phone.

* * *

 **NEIGHBORHOOD – DAY**

The next morning we headed back to Amanda's neighborhood, going off a few leads we'd found about some women she considered friends.

"You must have a green thumb." Sam muttered as we walked up towards the dark-haired woman in her garden.

"Excuse me?" She asked, looking up at us in surprise.

"Getting these herbs to grow out of season like this, quite impressive. I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself first." Sam said, pulling his badge out. "I'm detective Bachman, this is detective Turner and detective Howard."

"Hi." Dean smiled.

"We're following up on Amanda Burns' death." I told her. "Just going around, talking to neighbors and stuff like that."

"But didn't she- I mean she killed herself right?" Elizabeth asked.

"Oh, maybe."

"We heard you were friends with the deceased right?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." She shrugged.

"Did you have any idea about her practices?"

"I'm sorry, what kind of practices?"

"Her hour with littered with satanic paraphernalia." I explained.

"A regular _Black Sabbath_." Dean added.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, the- but she was an Episcopalian."

"Well, then we're pretty sure she was using the wrong Bible." Dean chuckled.

"Elizabeth, you alright?" A women asked, walking up behind us.

"I'm fine Renee, these are detectives. They say Amanda was- she was practicing-"

"I'm sorry detectives, you can tell that Elizabeth is a little bit upset." Renee said.

Dean nodded. "Of course, Miss…?"

" _Missus_. Renee Van Allen." She replied slowly, as if it was extremely important. "Would you like me to spell it for you?"

"We're good, thanks." I said, hating her attitude right off the bat.

"This Amanda business has been hard for Liz. For all of us."

"Well, thanks, um, we'll be in touch." Sam muttered.

"Have a nice day." Dean said as we walked away from the three woman, heading back to the Impala. "Well, I'm already sold on that Elizabeth chick. Did you see that victory garden of hers? Belladonna, wolfsbane, mandrake."

"Not to mention that look on her face when we mentioned the occult." I added.

"Well, she's definitely had a good run lately, gone up a few tax brackets. Won almost too many raffles. Kinda thing a little black magic always helps with." Sam said as the three of us got into the Impala. "I don't think she's alone either. Mrs. Renee Van Allen has won almost every craft contest she has entered in the past three months."

"Yeah, a regular _Martha Stewart_ , huh?" Dean said, glancing over at his brother. "Except for the devil worship, I'm thinking that was the coven we met back there, minus one member."

"Amanda was clearly going off the reservation. What do you think, they killed her to keep up appearances?" Sam asked.

"Seems like an appearance kind of crowd, don't you think?"

"Yeah."

"If they killed the nut-job, should we uh, thank them or what?"

"They're working black magic too, Dean." Sam said. "They need to be stopped."

"Stopped like, _stopped,_ stopped?" I asked, looking over at him. Sam glanced back at me, shooting me an obvious look.

"They're human, Sam." Dean said.

"They're murderers." Sam replied simply.

Dean stated over at him for a moment in surprise before shrugging. "Burn witch, burn."

Suddenly, the Impala started to shutter underneath us, the headlights flickering. My stomach immediately started churning as the Impala stuttered to a stop on the side of the road. I looked up, seeing Ruby standing in front of the car, her arms crossed. I tapped Dean on the shoulder, pointing up to her.

"Ruby." Sam muttered, getting out of the car. Dean and I quickly followed, trailing behind.

"Sam, listen to me, there's no time." She said.

"For what? What are you talking about?"

"You have to get out of town."

"So this is Ruby, huh?" Dean asked, raising the Colt, aiming it at her. "Never had the pleasure."

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed, turning to his brother with wide eyes. I stood in between the two of them, holding Sam back as he tried to grab the Colt away. I knew Dean wouldn't actually do it.

"I was hoping you'd show up again."

"Point that thing somewhere else." Ruby spat.

"Right." Dean laughed.

"Sam, please. Go. Get in the car and don't look back."

"Why?" Sam asked. "I don't understand."

"Hey hot stuff, we can take care of a few kitchen witches, thanks." Dean muttered.

"I'm not talking about witches, you jackass."

"Watch it." I snapped, narrowing my eyes at her.

Ruby took a breath, rolling her eyes. "Listen, witches are whores. I'm talking about who they serve."

"Demons."

"Yeah. And there's one here, now."

"Oh, what, you mean besides you?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sam, it knows you're in town and it's gonna come after you and its way more than you can handle." Ruby said, ignoring Dean as she looked to me. "You won't want to meet her."

"Oh come on, what is this huh? Please tell me you're not listening to this shit." Dean said, glancing over at Sam.

"Put a leash on your brother, Sam, if you wanna keep him." Ruby said in a threatening tone.

"Is that a threat?" I asked.

"Do you want it to be?"

"I swear, you keep taking and I'll-"

"What, shoot me?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow. "You won't do that after what happened to you."

"Guys, just chill out." Sam said.

"She's messing with your head." Dean said. "That's who they are!"

"I'm telling you the truth." Ruby said.

"And I'm telling you to shut up bitch." Dean snapped.

"I'm sorry, why are you even a part of this conversation?!"

"Oh, I don't know maybe because he's my brother, you black eyed skank!"

"Oh, right, right." Ruby scoffed. "You care about your family so much. That's why you're checking out in a few months, leaving them, right?"

A flare of anger rushed through me at her words and I ripped the Colt out of Dean's hand, aiming it at her. "Keep going, I dare you."

"At least let me try and help Sam. Because god knows when Dean is gone, you won't be sane enough to do it anymore." Ruby spat. I gritted my teeth, moving the Colt a fraction of an inch, firing at the ground next to her feet.

"Tori, no!" Sam shouted, grabbing the gun away from me as Ruby looked up at me with shocked eyes, disappearing from sight.

"Oh, now you care about killing an innocent person possessed by one of those things?!" I snapped. "You didn't care before! Three people, Sam! Three fucking people!"

"Calm down." Dean muttered, pulling me away from Sam as he stared down at the ground with a guilty expression. Dean turned me to face him, looking down into my eyes as I got more and more upset over everything, especially what she'd said. "Tor, calm down."

"Tori, I'm- I'm sorry-"

"Shut up, Sam." I said harshly, shaking my head as I made my way over to the backseat of the Impala, opening the door. "Just- just stop."

* * *

 **MOTEL ROOM – NIGHT**

The ride back to the motel was filled with awkward silence, neither one of us saying a thing until we pulled up in front of the motel and Dean broke the silence. "You can't trust her, Sam."

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"She's a demon. Period. Alright? They want us dead, we want them dead." Dean said as we walked into the room. "She's stringing you along like a fish on a hook."

"No one's stringing me along! Look, I know it's dangerous – that she is dangerous – but like it or not, she's useful."

"Useful how?"

"Well, she said she could help you-"

"That's bullshit." Dean said, shaking his head as he made his way into the bathroom, splashing water on his face.

"Fine, whatever. Listen, if she wanted us dead, all she has to do is stop saving our lives." Sam said. "Look, we have to start looking at the big picture. Start thinking in strategies and- and moves ahead. It's not so simple, we're not- we're not just hunting anymore. We're at war."

"Are you feeling okay?" Dean asked, walking back out of the bathroom.

"Why are you always asking me that?" Sam sighed, sitting on the end of one of the beds.

"Because you're taking advice from a demon for starters. And by the way, you seem less and less worried about offing people. You know, it used to eat you up inside."

"Yeah, and what has that gotten me?"

"Nothing, but it's just what you're supposed to do okay? We're supposed to drive in the fucking car and fucking argue about this stuff. You know, you go on about the sanctity of life and all that shit." Dean mumbled, rubbing his stomach uncomfortably.

"Wait, so– so you're mad because I'm starting to agree with you?" Sam asked in confusion.

"No, I'm not mad. I'm- I'm worried, Sam." Dean said, sitting down in one of the chairs across from his brother. "I'm worried because you're not acting like yourself."

"Yeah, you're right, I'm not. I don't have a choice."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Look, Dean, you're leaving, right? And I gotta stay here in this shit-hole of a world." Sam said, glancing up at me. "I don't know about you, but the way I see it, if I'm gonna make it, if I'm gonna fight this war after you're gone, then I gotta change."

"Change into what?" Dean asked, sitting forward, clutching his stomach in discomfort.

"Into you. I gotta be more like you."

"Dean, are you okay?" I asked, going over to him. He shook his head, practically falling on the floor as he groaned out in pain. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Oh- something's wrong. Like a bunch of knives inside of me..." Dean mumbled, his head between his knees. I knelt down in front of him, holding his shoulders as he leaded into me.

"Dean?"

"The coven. It's gotta be the coven."

"Don't worry." Sam said, rushing into the bathroom. I heard him throwing open each cupboard, searching for the hex bag.

"Come here." I said, gently coaxing Dean up, leading him over to the bed to lay down. Suddenly, Dean leaned forward, coughing up blood onto the floor. "Sam hurry!"

Dean started choking on the blood, sputtering as I held up still on the bed so he wouldn't fall off.

"I don't know where it is!" Sam exclaimed.

"Come on! Fucking find it, Sam!" I huffed, looking down at Dean with tears in my eyes. "You're gonna be okay, baby."

"I can't!" Sam repeated.

sI let out an annoyed breath, going over to one of the bags, pulling out a large knife, pushing the sheets off the bed before slicing deep into the mattress, pulling through the foam, trying to find the bag with no luck. As I did so, Dean fell off the bed, landing on the ground as he spat out more blood.

"Where the fuck is this thing!?" I huffed.

"I don't know." Sam replied, coming back out, going straight over to the bag beside me, pulling out the Colt, checking it for bullets.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going after the coven. Stay here." Sam said, heading over to the door.

"Sam, no." Dean croaked from the ground, looking up at his brother. "Tori, stop him!"

I glanced back at Dean, tears running down my cheeks as I took in the blood on his face, looking back to Sam with nod. "Do whatever you have to. Just stop this."

"Tori!" Dean yelled. Sam nodded, leaving without another word. I went back over to Dean, who was staring up at me with wide eyes. "Why- he can't-"

"I'm not gonna lose you yet, you hear me?" I said, holding his face in my hands as he groaned in pain. A few minutes later, the door was kicked in by Ruby, who strode inside. I stood up, standing in between her and Dean. "What do you want?"

"Move."

"Fuck no."

"Move or he dies!" Ruby exclaimed. "I know you hate me, but you have to trust me if you want him to live." I stared into her eyes, hearing Dean moan disagreements behind me. "He doesn't have much time."

"Fine." I said, stepping towards her, my eyes threatening. "But if you do anything, I will kill you."

"Sure." Ruby nodded, raising an eyebrow, silently telling me to move.

"Okay." I stood off to the side as she made her way to Dean, grabbing his collar. Dean tied to push her away, fighting against her. I got on the floor behind him, smacking her hand off his collar. She shot me a look, holding up a bottle of dark brown liquid.

"Hold his mouth open."

"Tori, no." Dean mumbled weakly, coughing up more blood. I gently grabbed Dean's chin, forcing his mouth open.

I didn't really trust Ruby, but I wasn't quire sure what other option I had left here.

Ruby sprayed the liquid into his mouth, standing up as Dean choked on it, spitting some of it out before sitting upright, seemingly fine now. "What was that stuff? God, it was ass. It tasted like ass."

"It's called witchcraft, short bus."

"You're the short bus...short bus." Dean mumbled. I shushed him, handing him a washcloth to wipe the blood off his face as I helped him to the edge of the bed.

"And next time you point that gun at me, I'm not gonna just disappear, understand?" Ruby said, looking over at me.

"You're right. I'll shoot you before you get the chance to." I retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what I get for saving his life? Another death threat?"

"Thanks." I mumbled. "Happy?"

"Very." Ruby grinned.

"Sam's in that house full of witches by himself." Dean said, standing to his feet.

"Two witches. One demon."

"What?"

"I told you." Ruby shrugged, moving out of the room. "Better haul ass over there."

* * *

Once we got to Elizabeth's house, Dean kicked the door in, stepping inside to see Sam pinned to the wall and Renee lying dead on the floor.

"Tammi!" Elizabeth cried with wide eyes.

"Don't you get it? I'm not Tammi." She spat, turning back to Dean and I. "Three for one. Lovely."

The demon pushed Dean and I into the wall along with Sam, the plaster cracking behind us as she walked forward, a sinister look in her eyes as she stepped in front of me, her body pressed against mine.

"Hello Victoria. Remember me?"

My stomach flopped as I stared into her eyes, and without warning, my mind was transported back to that day in Indiana.

* * *

 **NEW HARMONY, INDIANA – DAY  
Eleven years ago **

Walking near the lake, I breathed in the fresh air, glancing down at my watch to see that it was starting to get late, and that I should probably be heading back home. As I stepped away from the lake, I felt a change in the air around me, a woman with dark eyes walking over to me.

"Hi." She smiled.

"Hi..." I replied, looking down to see blood dripping from a wound in her stomach. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"I am now." She said, running a hand through my hair. "You're even more beautiful than I imagined."

"What?" I asked, looking up at her with confused eyes. Suddenly, she grabbed my arm, throwing her head back, yelling as black smoke pouring out. My eyes widened as I watched it fly into my mouth, the woman before me falling to the ground.

It was like I was paralyzed, I couldn't move. I couldn't make myself run, I couldn't do anything.

Without my consent, my body walked over to the lake, looking down at my reflection with an evil grin, my eyes turning pitch black _._

 _"Don't worry." A voice purred in my head. "We're gonna have a lot of fun."_

* * *

 **Present**

My eyes widened as I stared into hers, fear immediately taking over my body. "You."

"Me." She smiled, running a finger down my cheek.

"Don't touch her." Dean spat.

"Why don't you just stop talking?" She said, gesturing to him, shutting his mouth before turning back to me. "You don't know how long I've waited for this moment. To finally be able to have to you again."

"No..." I mumbled, shaking my head.

"Wait." Ruby called, walking into the room with her hands raised in surrender, causing the demon to look away from me. "Please. I just came to talk."

"You made it out of the gate. Impressive." She said. "That was a bitch of a fight, wasn't it?"

"Doors out of hell only open for so long."

"What do you want, Ruby?"

"I've been lost without you. Take me back." Ruby said, advancing on the woman. "That's why I led the Winchesters here."

"Fucking told you so." Dean said, looking over at Sam with angry eyes.

"They're for you as a gift." Ruby smiled. "Especially the girl. I know how much you want her."

"You know me so well."

"Let me serve you again. I've wanted it- I've wanted _you_ – for so long." Ruby said, standing in front of her.

"You were one of my best." The woman smiled. Suddenly, Ruby pulled out her knife, trying to stab her. The woman caught it mid-air, throwing it across the blood. "But then again, you always were a lying whore."

The demon threw Ruby across the room, sending her crashing into the TV. She quickly got up, kicking the demon in the stomach, trying to run past her for the knife. The demon clotheslined her, knocking her flat on her back before pulling her up, throwing her into a bookcase. She grabbed a fire poker, shooting a glare at Elizabeth, who still cowered down across the room, before making her way back over to Ruby.

"You're really telling me you threw in your chips with the Three Stooges here?" She asked.

Ruby tried to get up, but she hit her across the face with the fire poker, knocking her back down. Just then, Elizabeth crept over to the altar that was set up, dumping a bunch of pins into a cloth.

"Come on. Get up. I said, get up!" She yelled, tossing the poker on the ground, grabbing Ruby by her jacket, pulling her up. "We've been here before, haven't we?" She chuckled, looking over to Sam. "She didn't tell you? Pretty mortifying I guess. She was one of mine. I turned her out a long, long time ago. Ruby here was a witch. Of course that was when you were human."

My eyes widened in surprise as she threw Ruby back down into the pile of books that had fallen. I hated to say it, but I almost felt bad for her. She did save Dean, after all.

"Didn't want your friends to know that all those centuries back you sold yourself to me? Embarrassing, I guess. But don't worry love, no secrets where you're heading remember?" She smiled, beginning to chant as black smoked rose out of Ruby's mouth. " _Monyé valack forsa, ulu iri regatt ruac, fieesh nieesh forthsa lé inmist infirum forthsa por un betest a té un fornalles ecclaisee-"_

Suddenly, the three of us dropped to the ground as Tammi started to cough, looking down at her hand full of blood and the pins Elizabeth had put into the cloth. Tammi glared over at Elizabeth, who was chanting beneath the altar, clenching her hand into a fist. Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat as her eyes went wide and she fell to the ground, dead.

"Now, where was I?" Tammi asked, kicking Ruby in the stomach before turning to me. "Forget her. You're the one I really want."

Tammi pinned Sam and Dean against the wall again, stalking towards me, letting me move freely as she went, backing me against the far wall.

"Killing your Mommy and Daddy while you watched, why, that was the most fun I've had in a long, long time." She grinned, stepping over to me. "And now...well, it's just too bad I can't get to Daddy Winchester. That asshole sent me back to hell in the first place. His sons will just have to do. So, who should I make you kill first? Your little brother or your love?"

"Shut up." I hissed.

"You know, I think I'll save Dean for last. Make his death nice and slow. I'll rip his throat out with your teeth, I'll-"

Out of anger, I thrust Ruby's blade that I had grabbed off the floor deep into her stomach, watching the life fade from her eyes as her insides lit up with a bright yellow light. I let all of my anger from the things she had done to me out in that moment, twisting the knife before pulling it out, letting her fall to the ground.

It was then that I realized what I'd just done. I didn't just kill the demon, I killed the person inside, too.

And with that, I completely broke down.

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT**

As we pulled up in front of the motel, I got out of the car, still feeling numb inside. Dean glanced back at me, a worried look in his eyes as she stepped over to me.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I nodded.

"Do you want to talk about-"

"No." I muttered, shaking my head. I just wanted to forget.

"Tori, she was- I mean, she was probably dead already..."

"I saw the life leave her eyes, Dean." I sighed, moving around Dean to make my way inside the motel room.

Sam walked in behind me, going right into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him as I sat on the bed, staring down at the comforter. As much as what I'd done hurt me inside, I had to try and shrug it off. I would have plenty of time to sit around feeling guilty after this year was up. But right now, I had to be strong for Dean.

The was the only thing I had to focus on. Dean. If I did that, I would be just...fine.

* * *

DPOV 

Just as I was about to head inside the room, the lights started flickering in the parking lot. I looked around, seeing Ruby standing a few feet away.

"So the devil may care after all, is that what I'm supposed to believe?" I asked.

"I don't believe in the devil."

"Wacky night." I sighed, walking towards her. "So let me get this straight. You were human once, you died, you went to hell, you became a-"

"Yeah."

"How long ago?"

"Back when the plague was big."

"So all of them – every damn demon – they were all human once?"

"Every one I've ever met."

"Well, they sure don't act like it."

"Most of them have forgotten what it means, or even that they were. That's what happens when you go to hell, Dean. That's what hell is – forgetting what you are." She said, sending a chill down my spine.

I shrugged it off, putting on a cocky look. "Philosophy lesson from a demon. I'll pass, thanks."

"It's not philosophy. It's not a metaphor. There's a real fire in the pit. Agonies you can't even imagine."

"No, I saw _Hellraiser_. I get the gist."

"Actually they got that pretty close. Except for all the custom leather." Ruby muttered. "The answer is yes, by the way."

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Yes, the same thing will happen to you. It might take centuries, but sooner or later hell will burn away your humanity. Every hell-bound soul, every one, turns into something else. Turns _you_ into _us_. So yeah, you can count on it."

"There's no way of saving me from the pit is there?"

"No."

"Then why'd you tell Sam that you could?"

"So he would talk to me. You Winchesters can be pretty bigoted. I needed something to help him get past the-"

"The demon thing?" I asked. "It's pretty hard to get past."

"Look at you. Trying to be all stoic. My god, it's heartbreaking." She laughed, turning to leave. "See you around."

I stared after her as she disappeared from sight, trying to stomp down the fear bubbling up inside me as I thought about what she'd just told me. There really was no saving me. There was no way out of this. I was going to hell. As much as I hated to admit it, that scared me. A lot. Now even more so topped with the fact that I would become…

God, I didn't even want to think about that.

* * *

 **To think part of Dean actually kind of liked being a demon… *shudders***

 **Thanks for reading!**

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	10. Dream a Little Dream of Me

_You think it's easier  
To put your finger on the trouble  
When the trouble is you  
And you think it's easier  
To know your own tricks  
When it's the hardest thing you'll ever do _

… _._

 _You think it's easier  
To give up on the trouble  
If the trouble is destroying you  
And you think it's easier  
But before you threw your rope  
It was the one thing I could hold onto  
I have a will for survival  
So you can hurt me, then  
And hurt me some more  
I can live with denial  
But you're not my troubles anymore_

… _._

 _God knows it's not easy  
Taking on the shape of someone else's pain  
God, now you can see me  
I'm naked and I'm not afraid  
My body's sacred and I'm not ashamed _

_Somebody stepped inside your soul  
Somebody stepped inside your soul  
Little by little, they robbed and stole  
Till somebody else was in control _

_**U2 – The Trouble (ft Lykke Li)**_

* * *

The past few days had been rough on all of us, what took place back with that coven still weighing on our minds. I could tell there was something bothering Dean, but he wouldn't tell me, no matter how many times I asked. Eventually, I just gave up, hoping he'd tell me sooner or later.

Loud music played in the bar we were in as I down another drink, staring down at the empty glass.

"Why don't you ease up a little there?" Dean asked, looking over at me with concern.

"You're telling me to ease up?" I asked, incredulously, hearing Sam snigger next to me. " _You_?"

"Tori-" Dean started, interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He answered it, his eyes going wide. "What? Where?" I stared at him as he wrote down an address, hanging up. "Bobby's in the hospital."

"What? Where?"

"Pittsburgh. Come on. We gotta go."

* * *

 **PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL – DAY**

Seeing Bobby like this made me both sad and uncomfortable. It was so unlike him to lay that still. I had to try and believe he would pull through this, whatever it was. Though the doctors didn't even know what was wrong, which didn't give us much hope.

"We've tested everything we can think to test." The doctor said. "He seems perfectly healthy."

"Except that he's comatose." Dean muttered.

"Mr. Snyderson, you're his emergency contact. Anything we should know? Any illnesses?"

"No, he- he never gets sick. I mean, he doesn't even catch cold."

"Doctor, is there- I mean, is there anything you can do?" I asked, looking up from Bobby with tear-filled eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we don't know what's causing it..so we don't know how to treat it. He just...went to sleep, and didn't wake up." The doctor said, walking out.

"Something had to have happened."

"Yeah, but what?" I asked.

"Maybe we'll find something in his room." Dean suggested, he and Sam making their way out of the room. I glanced back at Bobby once more with a sad look as I turned and left, following the boys.

* * *

Once we'd found Bobby's room, we headed inside, looking for any clues as to what might've happened to him.

"So, what was Bobby doing in Pittsburgh?" Sam asked.

"Unless he's taking an extremely lame vacation..." Dean muttered.

"I mean, he must have been working a job, right?"

"Well, you think there'd be some sort of sign of something, you know?" Dean shrugged. "Research, news clippings. Or a fucking pizza box, or a beer can."

As the boys looked through a few empty drawers, I made my way over to the closet full of Bobby's clothes, pushing them aside to reveal that the wall was completely covered in news clippings, maps and pictures accompanied by a few post-it notes with addresses and number scrawled on them.

"Guys, look." I called, nodding over to the wall.

Dean chuckled, walking up behind me. "Good old Bobby, always covering up his tracks."

"You make heads or tails of any of this?" Sam asked.

"Silene capensis, which of course means absolutely nothing to me." Dean muttered, looking at one of the papers.

"Here. Obit." Sam said, pulling one of the clippings, skimming through it. " _Dr. Walter Gregg, sixty-four, university neurologist._ "

"How'd he bite it?"

"Um..actually, they don't know. They say he just went to sleep and didn't wake up."

"Like Bobby?" I asked.

"So let's say Bobby was looking into the doc's death. You know, hunting after something-"

"–that started hunting him." Dean finished.

"Yeah."

"Alright, stay here. See if you can make heads or tails of this." Dean said, gesturing to the closet as he made his way back to the front door.

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna look into the good doctor myself." Dean said, glancing over to me. "You coming?"

"Of course." I nodded, walking over to his side.

If someone did this to Bobby, I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

 **DR. GREGG'S OFFICE – DAY**

The doctor's assistant, a dark-haired girl, led us into a cluttered office, books and boxes scattered all around in the small room, ready to be picked up and removed.

"So, Dr. Gregg's death must have come as a shock to you." Dean said.

"Yeah, it did." She mumbled. "But, still, go in your sleep, peaceful. That's what you wish for, right?"

"Yeah. Right." Dean muttered, looking over a book at the doctor's desk. "Dr. Gregg studied sleeping disorders? Dreams?"

"I don't understand. I went over all of this with the other detective."

"You already spoke to another detective?" I asked, looking over at her.

"Yes. A very nice older man with a beard."

"Well, we'd love to hear it again. If you don't mind, that is."

"Thing is, I'm sort of busy. Maybe we could do this later?" She asked, looking up to Dean with lustful eyes.

"Sure. Yeah. Just bring you down to the station later this afternoon, and get your statement on tape, do it all official-like." Dean said as her face fell.

"Look, okay, I didn't know about Dr. Gregg's experiments. Not until I was cleaning out his files." She muttered.

"Experiments?" I asked. "The ones he was conducting on sleeping?"

"No one knew, okay? Not the university, not anybody. I already spoke with a lawyer and he told me I can't be held liable for anything."

"Maybe you couldn't, but that was before the new evidence came to light." Dean lied.

"New evidence?" She asked, looking concerned. "What new evidence?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Look, I'm just a grad student. This was a gig to cover tuition."

"Maybe so. But, still this could go on your permanent record. Unless you hand over the doctor's research to us. All of it."

* * *

After looking through the folders of research, Dean and I came upon a man named Jeremy Frost, who was one of Dr. Gregg's patents. We found his address, pulling up in front of an apartment complex near a college. The two of us made our way to his door, knocking on it.

Jeremy answered, staring up at us with wide eyes as Dean announced we were with the police department. "Look, I don't know what the RA said, but, ah, I was growing ferns."

"Take it easy, Phish, that's not why we're here." Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"Really? Oh, thank God. Okay." Jeremy sighed in relief, stepping aside for us to enter.

"We wanna talk to you about Dr. Gregg's sleep study."

"Dr. Gregg just died, right?"

"You were one of his test subjects, weren't you?" I asked as Jeremy led us over to a small kitchen.

"Yeah." Jeremy nodded pulling a couple beers out of his fridge, opening them before offering them to Dean and I. "Unless you're on duty or, whatever?"

"Actually-" I started, about to decline when Dean took the beer, drinking some of it. I quickly grabbed the bottle away from him, setting it down on the counter. "No drinks for us, thanks."

"Uh, right." Dean mumbled, trying to ignore my glare. "Dr. Gregg was testing treatments for a, uh, Charcot-Wilbrand syndrome? Which means...?"

"I, uh, I can't dream." Jeremy replied. "I had this bike accident when I was a kid and banged my head pretty good and I haven't had a dream since. Till the study. You know. Sort of."

"What did Dr. Gregg give you?" I asked.

"It's this yellow tea. It- it smelled awful, tasted worse."

"What did it do?"

"Just passed right out. And uh, I had the most vivid, super-intense dream. Like a bad acid trip, you know?"

"Totally." Dean nodded in agreement. I subtly slapped him on the back, shooting him a wide-eyed look, silently reminding him to stay in character. "I mean, no."

Jeremy stared at us strangely for a moment, taking another swig of his beer. "Well, that was it. I dropped out of the study right after that. I didn't like it. To tell you the truth...it kind of scared me."

"Right. Well, thanks for you time. We'll show ourselves our." I said, heading back over the front door, Dean walking behind me. Once we got outside, I slapped him on the back of the head, shooting him a hard glare. "Dude, what the hell? You don't take drinks from shady-ass people."

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking." Dean mumbled, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure it's fine. You think he was shady?"

"Yeah. You don't?"

"Eh."

"Dean just because someone offers you free alcohol does not make them your friend." I said with a laugh. "Come on, we should head back to the hospital."

* * *

 **HOSPITAL – DAY**

It was getting increasingly harder to see Bobby like this, I hated every single minute of it. He was the kind of person that I thought could never get hurt. Logically, I knew that wasn't true, but that's just what I'd always thought of him.

Sam walked into the room then, looking over at Bobby with sad eyes. "How is he?"

"No change." I mumbled, resting my chin in my hand, noticing the files Sam held. "What's that?"

"Well, considering what you guys told me about the doc's experiments, Bobby's wall is starting to make a hell of a lot more sense. "Sam began, pulling out a picture of a plant from the folder. "This plant, Silene capensis, is also known as African Dream Root. It's been used by shaman and medicine men for centuries."

"Let me guess." Dean started. "They dose up, bust out the didgeridoo, start kicking around the hackey."

"Not quite. If you believe the legends, it's used for dreamwalking. I mean, entering another person's dreams, poking around in their heads."

"I take it we believe the legends." I muttered, glancing up at the boys as they shared an obvious look.

"Dreamwalking is just the tip of the iceberg."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"I mean, this Dream Root is some serious mojo. You take enough of it, with practice, you can become a regular Freddy Krueger." Sam said. "You can control anything. You could turn bad dreams good, you could turn good dreams bad."

"And killing people in their sleep?"

"For example." Sam nodded. "So let's say uh, let's say this doc was testing this stuff on his patients, Tim Leary-style."

"Somebody gets pissed at him, decides to give him a little dream visit, he goes nighty-night."

"But what about Bobby?" I asked. "If the killer went after him, then why is he still alive?"

"I don't know." Dean shrugged. "So how do we find our homicidal sandman?"

"Could be anyone." Sam muttered.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Anyone who knew the doctor, had access to his dream shrooms."

"Maybe one of his test subjects or something?"

"Possible. But his research was pretty sketchy. I mean..I don't know how many subjects he had, or who all of them were."

"You know, if this were any other case, we'd be calling Bobby right now. Asking him for help." I muttered, standing up.

Dean glanced over at me, an idea twinkling in his eyes. "You're right."

"About what?" I asked. "I don't like that look."

"Let's talk to him."

"I think we might find the conversation a bit one-sided." Sam interjected.

"Not if we're tripping on some Dream Root."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"You wanna go dreamwalking inside of his head?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why not? Maybe we could help."

"We have no idea what's crawling around in there." Sam muttered.

"Well how bad could it be?" Dean asked.

"Bad."

"Dude, it's Bobby."

"He's right." I nodded, standing to my feet. "We have to try something."

"One problem, though." Sam said. "We're fresh out of African Dream Root, so unless you know someone who can score some..."

"Shit." Dean mumbled, glancing over at me. "I know who we can call."

I knew from the look in Dean's eyes immediately who he was talking about, shaking my head. "No."

"She's our only chance."

"No, Dean."

"Who?" Sam asked, looking between the two of us. "You know I'm not tapped into your psychic connection, right?"

"Bela. He's talking about Bela." I explained.

"Bela? Shit. You're actually suggesting we ask her a favor?

"I'm feeling dirty just thinking about it, but yeah." Dean said, heading for the door.

"I'm not happy about this." I said, standing up.

"Me either."

"Then let's not do it."

"What other choice do we have?"

"Any other choice. Any other person, any other creature." I said, turning back to Sam. "Call Ruby."

"What?" Sam asked, looking down at me with wide eyes.

"No. Come on." Dean huffed. "Let's go."

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT**

Back inside the room, Sam had fallen asleep over one one of the beds, a bunch of papers strewn across him. Dean sat across from me at the table, practically throwing the phone down, an irritated look on his face.

"I told you not to call her." I said.

"She's a fucking bitch."

"I know."

"I can't believe she's not gonna do anything."

"Really?" I asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"...no."

Suddenly, Sam let out a low moan, a small smile appearing on his face as he slept. Sam started making kissy noises, his lips puckering. I glanced over at him, looking back to Dean as we shared a wide-eyed look.

"What the...?"

"Holy crap." Dean laughed, a grin appearing on his lips.

"You just can't wait to tease him about this, huh?" I asked, laughing lightly.

"Nope."

As I glanced over at Sam again, I immediately wished I hadn't, my face going pale when I saw a bulge in his pants. "Oh my- oh, dear God..."

"Oh, Jesus." Dean huffed, as he turned towards his brother. "Sam! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Sam mumbled as he sat up slowly, wiping drool off his face.

"Sam." I muttered, nodding down. He followed my gaze, his eyes going wide when he realized what I meant.

He quickly grabbed the comforter, throwing it over himself. "Uh..."

"Good dreams?" I chuckled.

"Dude, you were making some serious happy noises." Dean grinned. "Who were you dreaming about?"

"What? No one. Nothing." Sam shrugged, not making eye contact with either of us.

"Oh, come on, you can tell us. _Angelina Jolie_?"

"No."

" _Brad Pitt_?"

Sam glanced up for a brief moment, shaking his head. "No! Dude, it doesn't matter."

"Whatever."

"Whatever." Sam huffed.

"I called Bela." Dean announced.

Sam smiled for a moment before wiping it away, clearing his throat. "Bela? Yeah? She- what'd she...you know, say? She gonna help us?"

I shared a look with Dean, glancing back over to Sam with a strange look. "You okay?"

"Ye- yeah. Fine. Just- just fine." Sam nodded awkwardly. "Is- is Bel- she- is she gonna help?"

"No." I replied."So that puts us back to square one. We've been trying to decipher the doctor's notes. But his handwriting sucks."

"I'm assuming you aren't coming over here to help out anytime soon, huh?" Dean teased, looking over at Sam with a smirk.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door. Sam's head whipped up to the door, a nervous look on his face. Dean got up, making his way over, glaring at the person he saw standing there.

"Well, Bela. As I live and breathe." Dean mumbled, moving aside for her to walk in. As I turned around, I saw Sam swallow hard as he shifted in the bed.

"You called me. Remember?"

"I remember you turning me down."

"Well, I'm just full of surprises." Bela muttered, turning to Sam, who waved at her with one hand, the other still over his _situation._

"Hey, Bela. What's going on?"

"I brought you your African Dream Root." She said, handing me a jar. "Nasty stuff, and not easy to come by."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Dean asked.

"What? I can't do you a little favor every now and again?" Bela asked, slipping her coat off. I noticed Sam sit upright as she did so, relaxing visibly once it was off.

"No. You can't." I said, trying to ignore Sam's weird behavior.

"Come on, I wanna know what the strings are before you attach them." Dean said.

"You said this was for Bobby Singer, right?" Bela asked, to which I nodded. "Well, I'm doing it for him. Not you."

"Why?" I asked.

"He saved my life once. In Flagstaff."

"Oh, yeah? What happened?"

"I screwed up and he saved me, okay? You satisfied?"

"I'd much rather hear about your failure." I said as Dean took the jar from me, examining it.

"So when do we go on this little magical mystery tour?" Bela asked, ignoring me as Dean went over to the closet, placing the jar inside the safe next to the Colt.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere. I barely trust you enough to keep you breathing, you think I'm gonna let you loose in Bobby's head? Yeah, right." I scoffed, looking up at her with innocent eyes. "No offense."

Bela stared down at me for a moment before nodding. "None taken."

"Darn." I mumbled. "Well, you should be on your way now."

"It's two am. Where am I supposed to go?" Bela asked, getting annoyed.

"Anywhere but here."

"Get a room." Dean said, walking back over to us. "They got the Magic Fingers, a little Casa Erotica on pay-per-view. You'll love it."

"Bye." I smiled, pushing her over to the door.

" _You_..." She hissed from outside. "My coat."

"Oh, right." I nodded, throwing it to her. She growled as it landed right on her face, glaring at me when she pulled it of. "Night."

"Nice to see- seeing you-" Sam called, standing up quickly as I slammed the door on her face. "Bela."

Both Dean and I turned around to Sam, shooting him strange looks as he sunk back into the bed, looking embarrassed.

* * *

A little while later, Sam came walked over to the bed where Dean and I were sitting, handing us each a glass of the Dream Root as he took his own, sitting in a chair across from us.

"Should we dim the lights and synch up _Wizard of Oz_ to _Dark Side of the Moon_?" Dean asked.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"What did you do during college?" Dean asked, looking at Sam with disappointment, moving to drink the liquid.

"Wait, wait." Sam called, stopping him as he pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "Can't forget this."

"What the hell is that?"

"Bobby's hair."

"We have to drink Bobby's hair?"

"That's how to control whose dream you're entering. You have to drink some of their...DNA." I explained, a slightly disgusted look on my face.

"Oh, yeah?" Dean smirked, glancing over at me with a suggestive expression.

"Mhm." I mumbled, glancing over at him with small grin.

"How do you guys even turn this into something sexual?" Sam asked shaking his head.

"How can you not?" Dean asked with a shrug.

"Listen, I'm just gonna stop you before this goes to far."

"Hey, we had to witness your boner before." I said, raising an eyebrow at him as his cheeks flushed red. "Deal with it."

"Let's just get this started, okay?" Sam sighed, placing a few strands of hair into each cup. I raised the glass to my nose, recoiling at the smell.

"Well, bottoms up." Dean muttered.

"Yeah." Sam sighed.

"Here we go." I mumbled, staring at the liquid in disgust.

"Anytime now."

"On three."

"Yeah." Dean nodded as a small silence fell over us.

"Well, one of us has to count to three." I said, glancing up at the boys as they both looked down. "I'll do it. One...two...three."

The three of us downed the drinks, all coughing once the liquid was down. I almost felt it come back up, covering my mouth with my hand as I tried not to puke.

"Feel anything?" Dean asked.

"No." I shook my head, glancing over to Sam. "You?"

"Nope."

"Maybe we got some bad shwag." Dean shrugged. Just then a loud crack of thunder sounded from outside and rain started pouring down on the window.

"When did it start raining?" I asked, going over to the window, opening the white curtain.

Dean walked up behind me, noticing the rain wasn't coming from the sky, but from the ground. "When did it start raining upside down?"

"Huh." I muttered, turning back around. Just as I did so, the whole scene in front of me changed from the motel room to a living room, a fireplace where the window we were just looking out once was.

"Okay, I don't know what's weirder – the fact that we're in Bobby's head, or that he's dreaming of _Better Homes and Gardens."_ Dean commented.

"Wait a second." I said, looking around the familiar feeling room. "Picture this place without the paint job. More cluttered and dusty with books all over the place."

"It's Bobby's house." Dean said, taking a few steps forward. "Bobby?!"

Sam moved to the foyer near the stairs, looking around out there while Dean and I stayed in the living room. I couldn't shake this strange feeling inside of me, almost as though we were being watched.

"Guys?" Sam called.

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna go look outside."

"No, stay close." Dean said.

"Dude, I'll be fine. Just look around in here. We gotta find him."

"Just be careful." I sad as Sam nodded, walking over to the front door. Once Sam had gone outside, Dean and I made our way into the kitchen, searching cautiously through the house, not sure what we'd find around every turn.

"Bobby?" I called quietly, heading into the hallway. I looked around, hearing a noise behind the closed closet door. "Bobby?"

"Who's out there?" Bobby's muffled and scared voice called through the door.

Dean quickly followed me over to the door, noticing the long scratch marks on it. "Bobby, you in there?"

"Dean?" Bobby asked. "Tori?"

"It's us, Bobby." I said, placing my hand on the doorknob. "Open up."

Bobby cautiously opened the door, moving past us into the kitchen, looking around frantically. I walked over to him, noticing the scratches on his cheek and nose.

"Are you okay?"

"How in the hell did you find me?" Bobby asked.

"We got our hands on some of that Dream Roof stuff." Dean explained.

"Dream Root? What?"

"Dr. Gregg. The experiments?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bobby asked, looking up at us with confused, terrified eyes as the lights started to flicker around us. "Hurry."

As Bobby ran past us to the closet, Dean stopped him, holding him still. "What's going on?"

"She's coming."

"Bobby, you know this is a dream, right?" I asked.

"What are you, crazy?" Bobby asked, looking over at me with wide eyes.

"It's a dream, Bobby! None of this is real." Dean said.

Suddenly, a blonde woman in a blood covered white dress opened the door on the other side of the hallway, stopping to stare at us as the wounds in her chest bled profusely.

"Does that look made-up?" Bobby asked turned to go into the closet when the door slammed. He tried to open it, jingling the doorknob. "Dammit!"

"Bobby, who is that?" Dean asked.

"She's- she's my wife." Bobby replied, tears in his eyes.

"What?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Why Bobby?" The woman asked, her voice pleading. "Why did you do this to me?"

"I'd rather died myself than hurt you." Bobby muttered.

"But you did hurt me. You shoved that knife into me. Again and again. You watched me bleed. Watched me die." She muttered, visions of me stabbing Tammi flashing before my eyes.

"Bobby, she's not real." Dean said.

"How could you?" She asked.

"You were possessed, baby. You were rabid. And I didn't know what I know now. I didn't know how to save you." Bobby said, close to crying.

"You're lying. You wanted me dead! If you'd loved me you would've found a way!" She screamed.

"I'm sorry."

"Come on!" Dean called, grabbing Bobby. "Tori!"

Dean's voice calling my name snapped me out of it and I helped him pull Bobby back into the living room, away from his wife. We quickly went to shut the doors as she started running for them, closing them just in enough time.

"I'm telling you, all of it. Your house, your wife, it's a nightmare!" Dean said as he stood in front of the doors, keeping them shut as Bobby's wife banged on them, still screaming. I went over to Bobby, standing in front of him as he rested on the edge of the desk, tears running down his face.

"I killed her."

"Bobby! This is your dream. And you can wake up. I mean, hell, you can do anything."

"Just leave me alone. Let her kill me already."

"No." I said, grabbing his shoulders, getting him to look up at me. "You have to snap out of this, now. We're not gonna let you die. You're like dad to me, please, you have to believe me."

Bobby stared up at me for a moment, glancing over to the door Dean was still in front of before looking back to me. "I'm dreaming?"

"Yes. Take control of it." I said. Bobby looked over at the door, shutting his eyes tightly. Suddenly, all the banging and screaming stopped completely. Dean opened the door, revealing that Bobby's wife was no where in sight.

"I don't believe it." Bobby mumbled.

"Believe it." Dean said, turning back to him. "Now would you please wake up?"

My eyes snapped open to see the motel ceiling, my breathing heavy as I panted. I glanced over to my side, seeing Dean lying next to me, his eyes opening quickly. Hearing breathing coming from my other side, I looked beside the bed, seeing Sam waking up on the floor.

* * *

 **HOSPITAL – DAY**

When we'd arrived at the hospital, we were informed that Bobby had been up for a little while. Of course, he almost immediately demanded to get his papers back from the investigation he already had going on.

I sat on the edge of the bed, gaining his attention as he glanced up at me from a folder. "So, all that stuff...with your wife?"

"Everybody got into hunting somehow." Bobby grumbled.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. If it weren't for you, I'd still be lost in there. Or dead." Bobby said, looking at Dean and I after a beat. "Thank you."

"So, uh, stoner boy wasn't in his dorm." Sam said, walking into the room. "My guess is he's long gone by now."

"He ain't much of a stoner." Bobby replied, picking up a picture of Jeremy Frost, the guy Dean and I had spoken to this morning.

"No?" Dean asked.

"No. He's a full-on genius. Hundred-and-sixty IQ. Which is saying some, considering his dad took a baseball bat to his head." Bobby said, handing a picture of a driver's license to me for a guy named Henry David Frost. "Here's Father of the Year."

"He died before Jeremy was ten." I read, glancing up at him. "Seems like a great guy."

"Injury gave him Charcot-Wilbrand. He hasn't dreamt since."

"Till he started dosing the dream drug." Dean said.

"Yup."

"How'd he know how to dig up your worst nightmare and throw it at you?"

"Hey, he was rooting around in my skull. God knows what he saw in there."

"How'd he get in there in the first place? Isn't he supposed to have some of your hair, your DNA, or something?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Before I knew it was him, he offered me a beer. I drank it. Dumbest fucking thing." Bobby said. I shut my eyes for a moment, letting out an annoyed breath as I looked over to Dean, shaking my head. "What?"

"Oh, I don't know. It wasn't that dumb." Dean laughed nervously.

"Dean, you didn't." Sam said.

"I was thirsty?"

"That's great." Sam said angrily. "Now he can come after either one of you."

"Well, now we just have to find him first."

"We better work fast and coffee up. Because the one thing we cannot do is fall asleep." Bobby said, shooting us pointed looks.

* * *

 **IMPALA – NIGHT**

Two very long, sleepless days had gone by. I felt as though I was in a little bit better shape than the boys, considering I had gone without sleep many nights before due to nightmares, but I could tell Dean was getting frustrated with this whole thing real quick.

Especially since we were back on the road now, and not in a motel room where we could kick Sam out and do certain _things_ to keep us nice and awake.

"This Jeremy guy's not a fucking ghost. Where the hell could he be?"

"Dean, you sure you don't want me to drive? You seem a little...caffeinated." Sam mumbled.

"Well, thanks for the news flash, Edison!" Dean snapped as his phone started ringing. He reached for it, his fingers fumbling to get a hold of it as he muttered curse words.

I grabbed the phone from him as he let out an annoyed breath, flipping it open, pressing it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Tell me he's got something!" Dean exclaimed angrily.

" _Strip club was a bust, huh?_ " Bobby asked.

"Pretty much, yeah." I nodded, taking a sip of my coffee.

" _That was our last lead._ "

"I know." I said, looking over to Dean, who was staring at me in question. "That was our last lead."

"What the fuck, Bobby?!" Dean yelled.

" _Tell that damn boy not to yell at me."_ Bobby complained. _"Fuckin' idjit, I'm working my ass off here._ "

"I know." I nodded. "What are we gonna-"

" _Tell him!_ "

I rolled my eyes, looking back to Dean. "Bobby says not to yell at him you _fuckin' idjit, he's working his ass off."_

Dean narrowed his eyes at the phone in my hand for a moment before pulling in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Sorry."

"Dean says he's sorry."

" _Better be._ "

"He's cranky."

"Hey." Dean muttered, looking back to the steering wheel with a pout. "I am not."

"What's going on over there?" I asked Bobby.

" _What do you got, Bela?_ " Bobby asked. I heard her voice faint in the background, rolling my eyes at the sound. " _She's got nothing_."

"What's going on?" Dean asked impatiently.

"Bela's got nothing." I replied.

"Great! Well, I'm just gonna go blow my brains out now!" Dean exclaimed slapping the steering wheel in annoyance.

"Dean! Calm down." I scolded, shaking my head at him. "Keep us posted, Bobby."

" _Yeah, yeah._ " Bobby grumbled, the line going dead as he hung up.

After a little bit more driving, Dean pulled the Impala over to the side of the road near a small clearing, turning the engine off. "Alright, that's it. I'm done."

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, watching as Dean slid down in the seat, resting his head on the back of it.

"Taking myself a long-overdue nap."

"What? Dean, Jeremy can come after you." Sam said.

"That's the idea."

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Come on, we can't find him, so let him come to me."

"On his own turf? Where he's basically a god?" Sam asked incredulously.

"I can handle it." Dean shrugged.

"Not gonna happen." I said, plucking a few strands of Dean's hair from the back of his head.

"Ow!" Dean cried, holding the spot I'd just grabbed the hair from as he glanced back to me. "What are you doing?"

"We're coming with you."

"No, you're not."

"Why not? It'll be three against one."

"'Cause I don't want you digging around in my head." Dean said, looking back to me with worried eyes.

"Oh, please. What's the worst I'm gonna see? A bunch of naked women?" I asked handing Sam the hair to stop into the Dream Root liquid. Dean glanced back at me, an uncomfortable look in his eyes as he turned back around, facing the front of the Impala before shutting his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

"Alright, here we go." Sam sighed. "I'll go first."

I watched as he drank about half of the glass, quickly handing the cup to me as he wobbled, falling against the door fast asleep. I took a deep breath, downing the rest of the drink myself.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the same place as before, only the color seemed to be drained and a little more gray-toned. I tapped the boys on their shoulders, waking them up.

"What are we still doing here?" Dean asked, looking around.

"I have no idea." I replied. The sound of something moving outside of the car sounded in the night air, calling our attention.

"There's someone out there." Sam said.

The three of us walked in front of the car, hearing music playing in the distance. I glanced behind us turning back around to see mine and Dean's younger selves sitting on a blanket a few feet away, a picnic basket next to us, the whole thing reminiscent of the time Dean had set up a little picnic for me for my fifteenth birthday.

Sam lingered back a little awkwardly, a small smile on his face as he watched the scene in front of us.

"Thanks for this." My younger self smiled.

"No problem." Young Dean shrugged, shooting me a small smile.

"It really means a lot."

"Yeah."

"It's really sweet of you, though. I mean, you didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to."

"Thanks." My younger self murmured. I watched as I looked towards the ground, peering up at Dean through my eyelashes. A moment of silence passed before I leaned over, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"I don't remember that happening back then." I said as I watched everything play out with wide eyes.

"Yeah, this is a little embarrassing." Dean mumbled, glancing back at me as our younger selves started full on making out, going as far as me lying completely on top of him. "This is a really old dream."

"So, this is what you used to dream about?"

"Yeah. Pretty much." Dean siged, looking over at me with a grin as our younger selves started pealing each other's clothes off.

"Very vivid imagination you had." I muttered, glancing over at him with a small smile. Sam stared over at us, a small smile on his face, a tinge of sadness in his eyes.

"Stop looking at us like that." Dean snapped.

"Sorry." Sam mumbled, looking down.

Suddenly, the scene around us started to crumble, each image fading from view until it was completely gone. Just then, Jeremy ran out from behind a tree, running off in another direction. Sam quickly took off after him, running our of our sight.

Dean and I went in the same direction, stopping suddenly as everything around us changed, and we were suddenly inside a motel.

We made our way down a long hallway towards a single door at the end of it. Before we reached it, it opened by itself, creaking as it went. Dean glanced back at me, a knowing look in his eyes as he stepped into the room, quickly shutting the door before I could follow him.

"Dean!" I called, banging on the door. "What are you doing?!"

After trying several times to open the door, I rushed back out of the motel room, finding myself outside of the building in a scene similar to the nightmares I'd experienced during the last couple years. I ran around the back, looking in each window until I came upon the room Dean was in...standing in front of a much more intimidating version of himself.

"We need to talk. See, you can't lie to me. I know the truth. I know how dead you are inside." He said viciously, sending a chill down my spine. "How worthless you feel. I know how you look into a mirror...and hate what you see."

"Sorry, pal. It's not gonna work." Dean muttered with a forced smile. "You're not real."

"Sure I am. I'm you."

"I don't think so. 'Cause see, this is my siesta. Not yours. All I gotta do is snap my fingers and you go bye-bye." Dean said, snapping his fingers once – but nothing happened.

"I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you." Dream Dean grinned, raising a shotgun. "Like I said...we need to talk."

"Dean!" I screamed, banging on the window. Though it was like he couldn't hear me at all.

"I mean, you're going to hell and you won't lift a finger to stop it." Dream Dean continued. "Talk about low self-esteem. Then again, I guess it's not much of a life worth saving, now is it?"

"Wake up, Dean. Come on, wake up." Dean mumbled to himself, his voice sounding worried.

"You are nothing. You're as mindless and obedient as an attack dog. Let's face it. Tori's gonna find someone else as soon as you drop. You're not really all that special to her and you know it. You don't deserve her."

"That- that's not true." Dean said, shaking his head.

"No? What are the things that you want? What are the things that you dream? I mean, your car? That's Dad's. Your favorite leather jacket? Dad's. Your music? Dad's. Do you even have an original thought? The closest you get to one is having a wet dream about a girl who you know could do better than you."

"Jesus, Dean. What are you doing to yourself." I muttered, shaking my head.

"You can still hear your Dad's voice in your head, can't you? Clear as a bell."

"Just shut up." Dean spat.

"I mean, think about it...all he ever did is train you, boss you around." He said, stepping right in front of Dean. "But Sam...and Tori...oh, he doted on them. He loved them."

"I mean it. I'm getting angry."

"Dad knew who you really were. A good soldier and nothing else. Daddy's blunt little instrument. Your own father didn't care whether you lived or died. Why should you?"

"Son of a bitch!" Dean yelled, pushing himself hard, knocking him into the wall next to the window, holding him there. "My father was an obsessed bastard!" I watched with wide eyes as Dean picked up a bat, hitting his dream self with it. "All that shit he dumped on me, that was his shit. He's the one who couldn't protect his family."

Dean stepped back, taking a few more swings. "He's the one who let Mom die. He's the one who wasn't there for Sam. I always was! He wasn't fair! I didn't deserve what he put on me."

Grabbing the shotgun, Dean took a few more steps back, shooting himself twice in the chest. "And I don't deserve to go to hell."

As fast as I could, I ran back to the room entrance, hitting the door with my shoulder a few times until it opened. I stepped cautiously into the room, staying a few feet behind Dean, who stared down at his dead body, almost as if he had no idea I was in here.

Suddenly, the dream version of himself woke up, his eyes snapping open revealing pitch black ones. I jumped back, started at the sight in front of me, a wave of fear washing through my body.

"You can't escape me, Dean. You're gonna die. And this? This is what you're gonna become!" He yelled angrily, standing to his feet. Just then, the image of Dean flickered out in front of us, vanishing in an instant.

I jolted upright, panting as I looked around the car, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. I glanced over at Dean, who looked around in panic before glancing back to me with worried eyes. I started into his green eyes for a moment, half expecting them to change before me, letting out a sigh of relief when they stayed the same.

* * *

 **MOTEL - DAY**

Once we were back at the hotel and reunited with Bobby, Sam had told us what he did to stop Jeremy. Though it seemed a little harsh, it was the only thing that saved us from dying in there.

"So, what happened to Bela?" I asked.

"She must've taken off or something." Sam shrugged.

"Just like that?" Dean asked. "It's a little weird."

"Yeah well, if you ask me what's weird is why she helped us in the first place." Bobby muttered.

"I thought you saved her life."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The thing in Flagstaff."

"That thing in Flagstaff was an amulet. I gave her a good deal, that's all." Bobby shrugged.

Sam shook his head. "Well, then why did sh-"

"You kids better check your pockets." Bobby said. The boys reached into their pockets, searching through them. Bobby rolled his eyes, glancing over at me with an exasperated look. "Not literally."

"Oh, no." I mumbled, a horrible thought coming into mind as I remembered the way Bela was eying the safe earlier.

"Oh, no, what?" Dean asked, watching me as I went over to the safe, opening it up, finding it empty.

"The Colt." Sam muttered. "Bela stole the Colt."

"That fucking bitch." I spat.

"Dammit!" Bobby exclaimed.

"Pack your shit." Dean said, going over to his duffel bag.

"Why?" Sam asked. "Where are we going?"

"We're gonna go hunt the bitch down." Dean said simply.

* * *

After packing up, we carried out stuff out to the trunk of the Impala, placing everything inside.

"Hey, Sam. I was wondering. When you were in my head, what did you see?" Dean asked.

"Uh, just Jeremy. He kept me separated from you. Easier to beat my brains out that way, I guess" Sam replied. "What about you? You never said."

"Uh, nothing. We were looking for you the whole time." Dean lied, glancing over at me. I could tell that he didn't want me to say anything, waiting for Sam to get into the car before he continued. "What did you see?"

"Nothing." I muttered, glancing up at him. "Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"I- I love you." I said, as his voice echoed in my head. _Tori's gonna find someone else. You're not that special to her. You don't deserve her._ "You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Dean nodded. I knew that he knew immediately that I had at least _heard_ more than I let on by what I said. But I didn't care.

There was no way he could keep thinking that he meant nothing to me.

I grabbed his jacket, pulling him down to me, placing a passionate kiss on his lips, melting into him as he pulled me in for a hug, resting his chin on the top of my head.

After a moment, we got into the car, sitting there in silence before Dean spoke. "I've been doing some thinking, and...well, the thing is...I don't wanna die. I don't wanna go to hell."

My heart broke at his words, tears springing to my eyes. Sam swallowed hard, nodding slowly. "Alright. Yeah. We'll find a way to save you."

"Okay, good." Dean muttered with a shaky voice, glancing over at Sam before locking eyes with me, a small smile on his face.

* * *

The room was dark as I moved through it, a light red mist flying around through the air around me. I didn't know where I was going, but I kept moving, hearing someone walking behind me. My heart started to pound in my chest as I picked up my pace and began running.

In the dim light, I saw a body laying on the ground, slowly moving over to it, squinting to see that it was Dean.

"Dean?" I called, cautiously bending down next to him as he laid still. It was then that I noticed the pool of blood underneath him, my eyes widening.

Suddenly, Dean's eyes snapped open, revealing pitch black ones staring back at me.

* * *

I jolted awake, my breathing heavy as my eyes met the ceiling of the motel room that we checked into not too long ago. I looked over to my side, seeing Dean sleeping next to me, looking rather peaceful. Letting out a sigh, I ran a hand over my face, grimacing as I felt a few strands of hair stuck to a thin layer of sweat.

 _That was just a nightmare._ I thought to myself, trying desperately to shake the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. _That's all it was. A horrible, nightmare…_

* * *

 **God, Demon Dean is** **so totally not my thing. For three episodes straight, all I wanted to do was beat the shit out of him. The beginning of s10 will not be fun to write, I'll tell you that much.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction  
Facebook: Phoenix Writes**


	11. Mystery Spot

_I miss you  
Miss you so bad  
I don't forget you  
Oh, it's so sad  
I hope you can hear me  
I remember it clearly  
….._

 _I didn't get around to kiss you  
Goodbye on the hand  
I wish that I could see you again  
I know that I can't  
I hope you can hear me  
'Cause I remember it clearly  
_…

 _I've had my wake up  
Won't you wake up?  
I keep asking why  
And I can't take it  
It wasn't fake  
It happened  
You passed by _

_Now you're gone, now you're gone  
There you go, there you go  
Somewhere I can't bring you back  
Now you're gone, now you're gone  
There you go, there you go  
Somewhere, you're not coming back_

 _The day you slipped away  
Was the day I found it won't be the same  
No  
The day you slipped away  
Was the day that I found it won't be the same  
I miss you_

 **Avril Lavigne – Slipped Away**

* * *

My eyes snapped open as I heard _Heat of the Moment_ blasting loudly from the radio on the nightstand, feeling the bed dip down beside me. I snuggled back into the bed. I had a fairly restless night, with too many nightmares to count and I did not want to face the day.

Ever since Pittsburgh, I seemed to be having a nightmare every time I shut my eyes. And they all involved the same thing. Dean dying in one way or another, sometimes coming back as a demon and sometimes not at all.

I felt Dean poke my arm and opened one eye, seeing him sitting next to me on the bed, smiling down at me. "Time to get up."

"No." I shook my head, slapping his hand away from my arm.

"Come on! Rise and shine!"

"No." I mumbled.

"Dude. Asia?" I heard Sam grumble as he sat up.

"Come on. You love this song and you know it." Dean said, a smile in his voice.

"Yeah, and if I ever hear it again I'm gonna kill myself."

"What? Sorry, couldn't hear you." Dean muttered, turning the volume louder. I couldn't help but laugh, deciding I wasn't going to get anymore sleep with Dean wide awake like he was, and sat up – pushing my hair into a high ponytail.

The other day's revelation seemed to be hanging heavy in the air. Dean truly didn't want to die, something we all had known all along. Since then, Sam and I had vowed to do anything possible to stop what was happening here. No matter what it took.

I smiled, watching Dean bop along to the music as he disappeared into the bathroom. I glanced over at Sam, who was just shaking his head at his brother, a smile on his face as well. I got up, making my way into the bathroom alongside Sam.

"No, we gotta go one at a time." I complained.

"We'll get done faster this way." Dean muttered as the three of us stuffed into the bathroom all at once to brush our teeth. Dean stood in between Sam and I, gargling loudly. I purposefully bumped into him, causing him to cough. He spit the water out and glanced over at me, shaking his head.

"What?" I mumbled around my toothbrush as he grinned, leaving the bathroom. Once I finished brushing my teeth, I went back out to grab some clothes, moving to go back into the bathroom when Sam shut the door on me. "Sam!"

"I was in here first!" Sam called through the door. I rolled my eyes, turning around to see Dean sitting on the edge of one of the beds, smiling up at me.

"Well, I guess you have to get changed out here then. Bummer." Dean mumbled with a smirk.

"Uh-huh." I nodded, walking over in front of him, resting my arms on his shoulders. "I could always use some help, you know."

"Oh, really?" Dean asked, pulling me down on the bed next to him in a flash, running his hand up my spine underneath my shirt as he leaned down, kissing me deeply.

"Oh, Jesus. Really?" Sam asked, shielding his eyes as he exited the bathroom. "I find it really disturbing how okay you guys are with getting it on while I'm like ten feet away."

"Sammy, I hate to break it to you, but we've done more with you sleeping _two_ feet away." Dean said, looking up at his brother with a grin.

"What?" Sam paled as he stared over at us, a disgusted look crossing his face when he realized exactly what that meant. "You guys are fucking sick."

"Hey, when the mood strikes-"

"Please, shut up."

"Gotta do what you gotta do." Dean shrugged. I chuckled as Sam shook his head, placing a lingering kiss on Dean's lips before I got up to go get dressed.

Once I was done, I found Dean rummaging through one of our bags, pulling out one of my bras, holding it up to Sam with a smirk. "This yours?"

Sam just glared as I rushed over to grab it away from him, shoving it back into the bag. I turned back to face Dean, flicking his forehead. "Bad."

"Ow." Dean chuckled, rubbing his head before going back into the bag, pulling out a gun. "Bingo. Now who's ready for some breakfast?"

* * *

 **DINER – DAY**

We entered the small diner that was filled with a few patrons, passing an old man standing in front of the register, holding his hand out to the cashier.

"Drive safely now, Mr. Pickett." The cashier said, handing the man some change.

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled, heading out the door. We found an empty booth and sat down near the window, I looked outside at the sun that was shining brightly.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke." Dean smiled.

I glanced over at him, an eyebrow raised. "You even know what that is?"

Dean just shrugged, obviously not caring that much. It was semi-edible, and that was good enough for him. I looked across the table at Sam, who was smiling at his brother. Why did I feel like we were both noticing all the little things he did even more now?

Probably because we were.

Luckily the waitress came up then, distracting us for a second. "You guys ready?"

"Yes. I'll have the special, side of bacon and a coffee." Dean said as she turned her attention to Sam.

"Make it two coffees and a short stack."

"Alright." She nodded, looking at me.

"Uh...french toast and coffee." I replied.

"You got it." She smiled, heading back behind the counter.

Dean waited until she was out of earshot before looking between Sam and I. "I'm telling you, this job is small fry. We should be spending our time hunting down Bela."

Sam nodded. "Okay, sure, let's get right on that. Where is she again?"

Dean hesitated for a second, not able to find a real answer. "Shut up."

"Look. Believe me, I want to find her as bad as you do. In the meantime, we have this." Sam said, pulling out a papers and placing them on the table.

Dean glanced over at me, rolling his eyes. "Alright, so this professor."

"Dexter Hasselback was passing through town last week when he vanished." Sam explained.

"Last known location?"

"His daughter says he was on his way to visit the Broward County Mystery Spot." I said. Dean picked up the flier for the Mystery Spot, inspecting it.

" _Where the laws of physics have no meaning._ " He read, glancing over at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. I only told Sam this job would be a good idea because it might take our minds off of our current situation with Dean and the fact that Bela was nowhere to be found in the world.

"Three coffees, black, and some hot sauce for the-" The waitress gasped as the bottle of hot sauce slipped off the tray and hit the floor, shattering. "Whoops. Crap. Sorry."

"It's okay." Sam nodded as she smiled, turning back towards the kitchen.

"Cleanup!"

* * *

After we finished eating, we left the diner to head to the Mystery Spot. A dog that was chained to a bike rack started barking wildly at us as we passed. I felt bad for the poor thing being left alone out here in the sun.

Dean grabbed the flier that Sam was holding, looking it over. "Joints like this are only tourist traps, right? I mean, you know, balls rolling uphill, furniture nailed to the ceiling, they're only dangerous to your wallet."

"Okay, look, I'm just saying, there are spots in the world where holes open up and swallow people." Sam said. "The Bermuda Triangle, uh, the Oregon Vortex-"

" _Broward County Mystery Spot?_ " Dean asked, incredulously.

"Well sometimes these places are legit."

"Alright, so if it is legit, and that's a big-ass _if_ , what's the lore?"

"Well-" Sam started as blonde girl carrying a stack of paper walked right into to Dean.

"Excuse me." She mumbled, making her way past him.

Dean, of course, ignored Sam completely to blatantly stare at the girl's ass as she walked away. I glanced up at Dean, staring at him with a raised eyebrow until he looked back at me, pulling me into his side, an apologetic look on his face.

I smiled up at him as Sam continued, trying to sell the Mystery Spot to Dean. "The lore's pretty frigging nuts, actually. They say these places the magnetic fields are so strong that they can bend spacetime, sending victims no one knows where."

"Sounds a little _X-Files_ to me." Dean said as we continued to walk down the street, passing two movers arguing over trying to get a desk through a door.

"Told you it wouldn't fit." The first man said, standing inside the building.

The second man glared over at him. "What do you want, a Pulitzer?"

"Alright, look, I'm not saying this is really happening, but if it is, we gotta check it out, see if we can do something." I said, trying to convince Dean myself.

Dean rolled his eyes a bit, but nodded. "Alright, alright, we'll go tonight after they close, get ourselves a nice long look."

* * *

 **MYSTERY SPOT – NIGHT**

That night, we made our way through a bright neon green and black spiraled hallway of the Mystery Spot. Truthfully, I was getting a bit of motion sickness from this paint job, but that was the only weird feeling I got from the place.

Sam pulled out his EMF meter, pointing it around the room as Dean shined his flashlight around, spotting a table with a lamp and ashtray glued on it, hanging upside down from the ceiling.

Dean nudged my shoulder, pointing to it. "Wow. Uncanny."

"Oh, yeah..." I smiled.

"Find anything?" Dean asked Sam, who just shook his head. The EMF meter was completely unresponsive. There was nothing here. "You have any idea what you're looking for?"

"Uh...yeah." Sam answered a bit hesitantly, to which Dean raised his eyebrows. "No."

"What the hell are you doing here?" A voice called through the darkness of the room.

I turned to see a man standing there with a gun aimed at Dean, who quickly lowered his own gun. "Whoa. We can explain."

"You robbing me?" The man asked, pointing his gun at Sam.

"Nobody's robbing you, calm down." I said, holding my hands up.

The man quickly pointed the gun at me in response. I saw Dean move in front of me out of the corner of my eye, gaining the man's attention again.

"Don't move!" He shouted, pointing the gun at Dean again.

"Just put the gun down." Dean said.

Out of nowhere I heard a gunshot echo past me, my ears ringing as I flinched at the sound. But what happened didn't even register until I heard Dean's body fall to the ground.

"Dean!" Sam yelled as I turned, seeing Dean lying still on the floor.

I quickly fell to my knees beside him, holding him up as Sam rushed to his other side. I lightly laid my hand on his chest, feeling the warm blood seeping from the wound there. I could hear Sam yelling something to the man, but I felt like I was in a tunnel. I couldn't make out the words.

All I saw was Dean... _dying_.

"No...no..." I mumbled through my tears. Dean took a shaky breath and went still. I watched in complete shock as his eyes turned lifeless, their shimmer draining in front of me. "Dean. Dean? Baby?"

He was gone.

* * *

In the blink of an eye, I was back in the hotel room, laying in bed with Dean sitting next to me…very much alive. I quickly sat up and looked around him at Sam, who seemed to be staring around the room in as much shock as I was.

"Rise and shine!" Dean announced, glancing over his shoulder at me, raising an eyebrow at the blank look on my face before turning to Sam. "Dude. Asia."

"Dean." Sam mumbled, just staring at him like I had.

"Oh, come on, you love this song and you know it." Dean said, turning up the volume, bopping his head along to the music, just like...yesterday.

I stared at him in awe before glancing over at Sam, seeing that his expression was very similar to mine. We watched as Dean went into the bathroom, disappearing behind the wall. Sam and I both got up at the same time, rushing over to the bathroom to find Dean brushing his teeth.

"Come on, let's go." Dean mumbled around his toothbrush.

Sam and I entered the bathroom, with me standing between the boys this time. Dean was gargling loudly...again. I ignored it for the most part, just staring down at the sink, brushing my teeth quietly as I tried to figure out what was going on here.

Sam spit out his mouthful of water and looked over at Dean, who was still gargling. When he didn't get a reaction out of either of us, he spit the water out and looked between the two of us.

"What?"

"I don't know." Sam shrugged.

"You alright?"

"I think, I-" Sam paused, looking down at me, then back up at Dean. "Man, I had a weird dream."

"Yeah? Clowns or midgets?" Dean asked with a smirk. I spit the toothpaste out of my mouth, leaving the room, heading over to the edge of the bed, suddenly feeling tired and very, very confused.

Dean came out after me, leaving Sam in the bathroom. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." I mumbled. Maybe it was just a bad dream.

I mean, it wouldn't be the first time I'd had dreams of Dean dying. But the fact that Sam seemed freaked out too bothered me.

"Bullshit." Dean said, kneeling down in front of me, placing his hands on my thighs. "I know something's wrong."

I looked down at him, into his eyes. The love that shown there made me smile, and I figured that the nightmare I had didn't matter. Like always Dean was here with me for now, and he was alive.

"Just the same old nightmares, Dean." I shrugged, cradling my face in his hands, leaning down to place a kiss on his lips.

"Alright. But you want to talk-"

"I know I can always talk to you." I smiled before kissing him again. It didn't take long for us to move back on the bed, Dean hovering over me as we kissed.

"Oh, Jesus. Really?" Sam asked, uttering the same words as he had in my dream.

My eyes snapped open as I stared up at Dean, gently pushing him off of me, making my way into the bathroom. I splashed some cold water on my face, looking up at myself in the mirror.

I was just losing it. That was the only explanation I could come up with.

* * *

 **DINER – DAY**

Again, the three of us made our way back into the small diner, the same people from my dream sitting around, eating the same foods. We even passed the same old man standing in front of the register.

"Drive safely now, Mr. Pickett." The cashier said to the old man, handing him some change.

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled back, leaving the diner. I stood there, staring at them with my mouth hanging open slightly. Everything that happened in my dream was replaying right in front of me.

Dean grabbed my hand and led me to the same booth we sat in as before. Sam and I shared a bewildered look as we slid into the booth, a look of recognition in his eyes.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke." Dean said, a grin on his face. Sam just stared at him, not saying anything.

I stared up at the poster Dean was looking at, then glanced back at him. "It's Tuesday?"

"Yeah."

"Are you guys ready?" The waitress asked, coming up to the table.

"Yes, I'll have the special, side of bacon and a coffee." Dean said. I started to feel a little sick, holding my stomach as the waitress looked over at Sam.

"Uh, nothing for me, thanks." He answered, looking down at the table.

She looked back at me, a smile on her face. "You dear?"

"Uh...coffee. Black." I said, feeling unsteady.

"Let me know if you change your mind." She smiled, walking away.

"You two on a diet or something?" Dean asked, an eyebrow raised. Sam ignored him, staring after the waitress.

"No." I mumbled.

"I mean, you have to know you don't need to diet." Dean quickly said, turning to face me in the booth trying to correct what he'd said. Even though what he said was fine. "You are perfect just the way you are."

"Thanks." I smiled, shrugging slightly. "I'm not on a diet. I'm just not hungry right now."

"...alright." Dean said, watching me closely for a moment. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Sure?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Okay…"

"Honestly, Dean." I said when he didn't look away from me. "Maybe we should just focus on the job."

"I'm telling you, this job is small fry. We should be spending our time hunting down Bela. Hey." Dean called, snapping his fingers to get Sam's attention. "You with us?"

Sam looked back at him, blinking a few times. "What?"

"You sure you feel okay?" Dean asked again.

"You don't- you don't remember? Any of this?"

"Remember what?"

"This. Today. Like it's- like it's... happened before?" Sam asked again, this time looking at me.

"Yeah..." I nodded. "I feel the same way."

"You mean like déjà vu?" Dean asked.

"No, like it's _really_ happened before." I said glancing over at Sam, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, turning to me. "Like déjà vu."

"No, forget about déjà vu, Dean. Does it feels to you that we're living yesterday all over again?"

Dean stared at me like I was crazy for a second, then smiled. "Okay, how is that not dé-"

"Don't- don't say it. Just don't even..." I said. He held his hands up in surrender as the waitress came to the table with the tray.

"Two coffees, black, and some hot sauce for the-" She gasped as the bottle wobbled, but Sam caught it before it could fall off the tray. We all stared at the bottle in his hand for a second before he handed it back to her.

"Thanks." She muttered, placing the bottle down on the table, throwing a small smile at us before walking away.

"Nice reflexes." Dean commented. Sam sighed, looking away.

* * *

After Dean had finished his breakfast, we made our way back down the same street, passing the same barking dog as yesterday.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Dean said for what felt like the millionth time since we'd stepped outside.

"Okay, look. Yesterday was Tuesday, right? But today is Tuesday too." Sam tried to explain. It sounded completely asinine and Dean was definitely not going to buy it. "Right, Tori?"

"Honestly, yeah..." I muttered.

Dean let out a breath shaking his head. "Yeah. No. Good. You two are totally balanced."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, smacking his chest lightly.

"So you don't believe us?" Sam asked, getting upset.

Dean just laughed it off with a shrug as the same blonde girl bumped into him, mumbling an _excuse me_ as she walked away. Just like before, Dean turned to look at her butt when I smacked him again.

"Present issues, Winchester." I said, shaking my head. Dean wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side.

"Sorry. Look, I'm just saying that it's crazy. You know, I mean, even for us crazy. _Dingo ate my baby crazy._ " Dean said glancing over at his brother. "Hey, maybe it was another of your psychic premonitions."

"No, no way. Way too vivid. Plus, Tori had the same dream. Okay, look, we were at the Mystery Spot, and then-" Sam paused, glancing over at me as I stopped mid-breath, remembering exactly what happened at that place.

"And then what?" Dean pressed.

"Then I woke up." Sam finished.

"And you?" Dean asked me.

"Same thing." I shrugged, trying not to let the tears well up in my eyes. Thankfully, Dean didn't notice.

"Told you it wouldn't fit." The mover inside grumbled as we passed them.

"What do you want, a Pulitzer?" The second guy asked, throwing his arms out to the side.

"Wait a minute!" Sam exclaimed, turning to me. "The Mystery Spot. You think maybe it-"

"Maybe, what?" I asked.

"We gotta check that place out."

I nodded, looking up at Dean. "Please, just go with this, okay?"

"Alright, alright." Dean sighed. "We'll go tonight, after close. Get ourselves a nice long look."

"Wait, what? No."

"Why not?"

"Uh..." I hesitated, not knowing what to say.

"Let's just go now. Right now. Business hours, nice and crowded." Sam interjected for me.

Dean shook his head at us. "My God, you're freaks."

"Dean." I pleaded, looking up at him with my best doe eyes. I could see him melt right away.

"Okay! Whatever. We'll go now." Dean said, walking ahead of us, leaving Sam and I on the sidewalk as he stepped into the street. I glanced up at Sam and sighed, shaking my head.

Suddenly I heard a loud crash, turning forward to to see Dean lying on his back in front of a car.

"Dean!" I screamed, running over to him with Sam right behind me. We both dropped to our knees beside him, much like the last time.

"Dean, no, no." Sam muttered, turning him over, to see that he had blood on his face.

I felt the tears run down my cheeks, resting his head in my lap. "Baby...no..."

"Come on! Dean." Sam cried, holding him up. The old man from the diner leaned out of his car, not saying anything.

"Dean, baby..." I sobbed as he took his last breath. "No..."

* * *

My heart was racing as my eyes snapped open again. My breathing was heavy and I immediately sat up, looking around. Sam was doing the same, his face full of confusion.

"Rise and shine!" Dean called, glancing over at me while tying his shoes before walking into the bathroom, leaving Sam and I staring after him again.

After following Dean into the bathroom, Sam and I watched as he gargled loudly, trying his hardest to get on our nerves.

I was way too freaked out to care though.

* * *

 **DINER – DAY**

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke." Dean said, the same grin on his face as the last two days. I rolled my eyes at him, shaking my head.

Yet again, every single thing was exactly the same as before in here. There were no changes.

"Okay, would you listen to us, Dean? 'Cause I am flipping out." Sam said.

"Are you guys ready?" The waitress, Doris, asked walking over to the table.

"He'll take the special, side of bacon, coffee, black." I pointed at Dean before nodding to Sam and I. "Nothing for us, thanks."

"You got it." Doris nodded, walking away.

"You know, Tor, I get all tingly when you take control like that." Dean muttered, looking over at me with a grin.

"Well, you know how much I love to make you tingle." I smirked, nearly forgetting the situation we were in as I looked into Dean's eyes.

"Quit screwing around, guys." Sam called, shaking his head.

"Okay. Okay." Dean nodded. "I'm listening. So- so you think that you're in some kind of a, what again?"

"Time loop."

"Like _Groundhog Day_."

"Yes!" I exclaimed, hoping he finally got it. "Exactly like _Groundhog Day._ "

"Uh-huh."

"So you don't believe us." Sam mumbled.

"It's just a little crazy." Dean shrugged, laughing. "I mean even for us, crazy. You know, like, uh-"

" _Dingo ate my baby, crazy?_ " I finished.

Dean looked over at me, a little shocked. "How'd you know I was going to say that?"

"Other than the fact that I know you like that back of my hand-" I said as he shrugged, agreeing to that. "-you've said it before, that's the whole point."

Just then Doris came back with the tray, setting everything down. "Coffee, black, and some hot sauce for the- whoops!"

The hot sauce slipped off the tray, but Sam caught it right before it hit the floor and handed it back to her without even looking as Dean stared at him in slight awe.

"Thanks." Doris mumbled, putting the bottle on the table before leaving again.

"Nice reflexes." Dean said.

"No. I knew it was going to happen." Sam told him.

"Okay, look." Dean sighed. "I'm sure that there's some sort of an explanation-"

"You're just going to have to go with us on this, Dean. You have to trust us here." I said, getting upset.

"Okay, calm down-" Dean started

"Don't tell me to calm down!" I exclaimed, interrupting him. "I can't calm down! Because..."

"Because what?"

"Because you- you die, today, Dean." Sam muttered.

"What?"

"You do." I mumbled.

"I'm not gonna die." Dean said, turning to face me with sad eyes. "Not today, at least."

"Twice now. I've watched you...die." I murmured, watching his eyes go wide. "And I can't...I won't do it again, okay? You're just going to have to believe us. Please."

"Alright. I still think you're nuts-" Dean said, looking at Sam, then back to me. "But okay, whatever this is, we'll figure it out."

* * *

Out on the sidewalk, we passed the same barking dog, the same girl bumped into Dean, muttering another excuse me as she passed and Dean checked out her butt. We passed the same movers, who were still arguing.

Everything was exactly the same.

"And you think this cheesy-ass tourist trap has something to do with it?" Dean asked, still not believing us.

"Maybe it's the real deal, you know? The, the magnetic fields bending spacetime or whatever." Sam said.

"I don't know, it all seems a little too _X-Files_ for me."

"Well, we don't know how else to explain it, Dean." I said, getting fed up with him not believing us.

"Alright! Alright. We'll go tonight after they close, get ourselves a nice long look." He said, looking down at me.

"No, no, we can't." Sam told him.

"Why not?"

"Because y- you-" I started.

"I, what?" Dean asked, looking down at me. I didn't answer, looking away. "I die there?"

"Blown away, actually." Sam muttered.

"Huh. Okay, let's go now." Dean said, moving towards the street. Sam and I quickly grabbed him, pulling him back to the sidewalk as the old man sped past us in his car.

"Stay out of the way!" He yelled, leaning out of the window.

Dean shook his head a bit, laughing lightly until he glanced at us, the looks on our faces enough to make him stop."Wait, did he…?"

"Yesterday. Yeah." Sam nodded.

"And?"

" _And_ what?"

"Did it look cool, like in the movies?" Dean asked, a smirk on his face. I crossed my arms, getting irritated with his lack of concern over his own death.

"You peed yourself." I said. His face was blank for a second, to which I raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I peed myself. Man gets hit by a car, you think he has full control over his bladder? Come on." Dean scoffed, making sure to look both ways before crossing the street.

* * *

 **MYSTERY SPOT – DAY**

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. We could use all the good ink we can get." The owner gushed, looking up at us.

"How long have you owned the place, Mr. Carpiak?" I asked, holding a pen and pad in my hands.

"Well, my family's been guarding the secrets here since you don't want to know when."

"So you'd know if anything strange happened." Sam asked.

"Strange? Strange happens here all the time. It's a _Mystery Spot_." He said, chuckling. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"What exactly does that mean?"

"Well, uh- it's where the laws of physics have no meaning."

"Okay, like how?" Sam said, getting annoyed.

"Take the tour." Mr. Carpiak muttered with a grin.

"The guy who went missing, Dexter Hasselback, he take the tour?" Dean asked, walking up beside me.

"Uh, uh, hold on a minute, what kind of article is this?"

"Just answer the question." I said through gritted teeth.

"The police scoured every inch of this place. They couldn't find that man. I never seen him before. We're a family establishment-"

Sam stepped up to the man, towering over him. "Listen to me. There is something weird going on here. Now do you know anything about it or not?"

"Okay. Look, guys, give me a break. I bought the joint at a foreclosure auction last March, alright? Hell, I used to sell bail bonds."

"Okay, _Kojak_ , let's get some air." Dean said, pulling Sam away from the man and back outside. "Well, I hate to say it, but that place is exactly what I thought – it's full of crap."

"Then what is it, Dean?" I asked. "What the hell is happening to us?"

"I don't know. Alright, let me just- so every day, I die."

"Yeah."

"And that's when you two wake up again, right?"

"Yeah."

"So let's just make sure I don't die. If I make it to tomorrow, then maybe the loop stops and we can figure all this out."

"You think?" Sam asked, slightly hopeful.

"It's worth a shot. I say we grab some takeout and head back to the motel, lay low until midnight." Dean said, turning to me. "Maybe even get our own room, huh?"

I smiled at him, nodding. "That'd be nice, yeah."

"Alright, good. Who wants Chinese?" Dean asked, backing away from us.

Out of no where a desk fell from one of the top windows of the building we were standing in front of, landing right on top of him. I shrieked and grabbed Sam, burying my face into his chest.

* * *

As _Heat of the Moment_ played again, I laid there on the bed a minute until Dean started poking my arm. After a few moments of him jabbing me, I jumped out of bed, stomping to the bathroom.

"Yeah, _rise and shine!_ I'm fucking up!" I yelled, slamming the door behind me.

* * *

 **DINER – DAY**

"Are you still mad at me?" Dean asked, glancing over at me.

"No." I sighed, shaking my head. "I'm not mad at you, Dean."

"Good. 'Cause I didn't know what the hell I did."

"You didn't do anything."

"We have to figure this out." Sam said.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Why we keep reliving the same day."

"Huh?"

"You die and then we wake up again." Sam explained.

"You're joking." Dean laughed, glancing over at me to see a serious look on my face. "You're joking, right?"

"No." I shook my head.

"Okay. You're nuts, but whatever this is, we'll figure it out."

"Thanks." Sam sighed.

"So, uh...if you're stuck in _Groundhog Day_ , why?" Dean asked. "What's behind it?"

"Well, first we thought it was the Mystery Spot. Now I'm not so sure."

"What do we do?"

"Well, we keep you breathing. Try to make it to tomorrow. I mean, that's the only thing I can think of."

Dean shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard."

"Dean, we've watched you die a few times now and we can't ever seem to stop it." I said, the desperation clear in my voice.

"Well, nothing's set in stone." Dean said, pulling me tightly to his side in the booth. "So, I order the same thing every day, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Pig in a poke, side of bacon." Sam told him. Dean turned to Doris who was standing in front of the window to the kitchen, talking with the cook.

"Excuse me?" Dean called, getting her attention. "Can I get sausage instead of bacon?"

"Sure thing, hon." She nodded.

"See? Different day already." Dean smiled at us. "You see, if we decide that I am not gonna die, I'm not gonna die."

He made it sound so simple that I almost believed him.

A few moments later Doris brought over his food and set the plate down in front of him before walking away. I closed my eyes, hoping that changing things up would be enough to stop this cycle. Suddenly I heard Dean start to choke next to me.

"Dean." Sam said, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Dean?" I asked sitting up.

* * *

As soon as my eyes opened, I shut them, trying to block out _Heat of the Moment_. I didn't want to do this again.

"He's not leaving this room today." I mumbled, still not opening my eyes.

"That's not a bad idea." Sam agreed.

After a few moments, I got up as Dean came out of the bathroom – a shocked look on his face when he saw me standing in the middle of the room.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Dean asked. "Why are you up?"

"We're gonna go take a shower." I said, glancing back at Sam with an apologetic shrug. He looked like he was about to puke...but at least he'd live.

"Oh, really?" Dean asked with a smirk.

"Mhm." I nodded, pushing him into the bathroom. "I think we should stay in today, too."

"W- why?" Dean asked, a confused look on his face.

"Cause I- I'm tired. And we really, _really_ need a break." I smiled, closing the bathroom door behind us.

Dean watched me intently as I pulled my shirt off, throwing it on the ground. I turned the water on and turned to him, peeling his clothes off. Once our clothes were in a little pile on the floor, we stepped into the shower under the hot water.

"You mean we can't even go out for breakfast?" Dean asked, glancing down at me as I shook my head reaching up to kiss him. I trailed my kisses down his neck, moving down his chest.

"You'll thank me when it's Wednesday..." I mumbled against his skin.

"What?" Dean asked as I lowered myself in front of him, kissing his hip bones. He shrugged, suddenly deciding it didn't matter so much anymore as I took him into my mouth. "Eh, whatever that means."

Just when Dean was about to hit his breaking point, I slowly moved back up his stomach, keeping a hand around him as he bent down to kiss me, resting his forehead against mine as he panted. Dean placed his hands under my thighs and I wrapped my legs around his hips as he lifted me up, pressing my back against the shower wall. I intertwined my arms around his neck, closing my eyes in pleasure as he guided himself into me.

I moaned, already feeling a release building up inside of me as he moved. Needless to say, it didn't take long before the both of us we completely satisfied.

"God, you're amazing." Dean murmured, kissing me deeply.

"I know." I grinned against his lips. "I love you."

"I know."

Eventually, the shower was full of soap and as I shut my eyes, turning to rise my hair, I heard a loud thud. I was almost too afraid to look, but I made myself open an eye, watching as blood mixed with the water, swirling down the drain.

* * *

My eyes snapped open and I was laying in bed once again. I wanted to scream, I wanted to pull my hair out. I wanted to break down and cry.

Sam quickly sat up and looked over at me. "What happened?"

"He slipped and fell." I mumbled, not moving to get up. Sam huffed, throwing himself back down on the bed.

We stayed in the room again today, not willing to venture out again. Sam had left to get tacao's at some point, but I wasn't hungry. So I just sat there...waiting for what seemed to be the inevitable.

"Do these tacos taste funny to you?" Dean mumbled around a mouth full of food.

* * *

As _Heat of the Moment_ blasted through my ears, I sat up, looking over at Sam. "I'm gonna shoot myself."

"Please shoot me first." He sighed.

We heard Dean moving things around in the bathroom and went to look. Almost as soon as we stepped in the doorway, Dean plugged in his razor...and got electrocuted.

* * *

 **MYSTERY SPOT – NIGHT**

Actually making it out of the room today, we headed over to the Mystery spot, tying the owner to the chair that Dean was currently kneeling next to while I was standing next to Sam, holding a flashlight for him as he was busting through the walls of this shit hole with an ax.

"Everybody's fine, nobody's gonna get hurt, okay?" Dean said trying to reassure the man. "Sammy, maybe you should drop the ax and let this guy go, what do you say?"

"Something's gotta be going on here. I intend to find out what." Sam said, swinging the ax at the wall again.

"Place is tore up pretty good, dude. Time to give it a rest. Don't you think so, Tor?"

I shook my head, staring over at him. "Hell no."

"I'm gonna take this fucking place down to studs!" Sam yelled.

"Sammy, that's enough." Dean stood up and walked over to Sam. "Give me the ax."

"Leave it, Dean." Sam said, holding the ax away from him.

"Give it." Dean said, reaching for the ax.

"No, you give it."

Both of their hands were on the ax at this point, pulling it back and forth between the two of them.

"Okay, guys, I don't think this is such a good idea." I said, trying to stand between them without my head getting chopped off. I managed to get a hand on the ax, trying to pry it away from them.

"Let it go." Dean said through clenched teeth.

"No." Sam retorted.

"Guys, would both of you let go! Come on!" I yelled at them.

"Dean, leave it, please-"

Suddenly we lost control of the ax and it slipped...Sam and I were splattered with blood and I froze, staring straight ahead with wide-eyes

"Dean?" Sam asked as Dean's body fell to the ground with a thud. I stared down at Dean's blood now covering my clothes and started to gag as the owner – who was still tied to the chair – started screaming through the tape covering his mouth.

* * *

My eyes flew open, but I didn't move. I couldn't. I rolled back over and closed my eyes again, picturing happier times – like when we didn't have to worry about fucking _hell_ and _bullshit_. Back when Dean didn't fucking die every two goddamn seconds!

I whimpered into the pillow, feeling the tears run down my cheeks.

"Tori?" Sam said, sitting down beside me on the bed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"We axed Dean, Sam!" I sobbed, looking up at him. "No, I am not okay!"

"What's going on?" Dean asked, coming out of the bathroom. Sam stood up so Dean could sit next to me, coaxing me to roll over. "Babe...what's the matter?"

"I can't do it anymore, Dean." I muttered. A worried look crossed his face and he glanced up at Sam.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked. When I didn't answer, he pushed the hair out of my face and lifted my chin gently. "Do you- do you wanna leave?"

Dean's eyes said what he wouldn't say aloud. _Do you want to leave me?_

"No! No, Dean." I said, leaning up on my elbow. "That's not what I mean. I don't want to leave..."

"Oh...okay, good." Dean nodded, a nervous smile on his face. "Then why are you crying?"

"PMS?" I sniffled.

"Really?" He asked rolling his eyes.

I shook my head. "No..."

"Then what is it?"

"It'll take more time to explain than we have." I sighed, getting out of bed.

* * *

 **DINER – DAY**

The same old scene was playing out as we entered the diner. The Cashier gave the old dude his change, tells him to drive safely, but the old guy doesn't give a shit. Only difference this time was that the old dude bumped into Sam on the way out. But we sat down in the same booth by the window.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke." Dean said, his grin dropped as Sam placed a set of keys on the table. "What are those?"

"The old man's. Trust me, you don't want him behind the wheel." Sam answered.

"You three ready?" Doris asked.

"Uh, yes, we are. I'll have the special, side of bacon and a coffee." Dean told her.

"Hey, Doris? What I'd like is for you to log in some more hours at the archery range. You're a _terrible_ shot." I snapped, simply fed up with this whole thing.

"How'd you know that?" She asked, baffled.

"Lucky guess." I shrugged, trying to force the image of an arrow going straight through Dean's heart out of my head.

"Okay, so you think you're caught in some kind of what, again?" Dean asked after Doris walked away.

"Time loop." Sam answered, getting tired of repeating it.

"Like _Groundhog Day_."

"Doesn't matter." I mumbled. "There's no way to stop it."

"Jeez, aren't you two grumpy." Dean commented.

"Yeah, we am." Sam scoffed. "You wanna know why? Because this is the hundredth Tuesday in a row we've been through, and it never stops. Ever. So yeah, we're a little grumpy."

"The hundredth? Come on." Dean said, shaking his head.

I glanced over at Sam, looking back to Dean. " Hot sauce."

Dean gave me a confused look. "What?"

I nodded to Doris, who arrived with the tray of coffee and a bottle of hot sauce. "Coffee, black, and some hot sauce for the—whoops!"

The hot sauce slid off the tray and Sam caught it, yet again, and slid it across the table.

"Thanks." Doris said, before walking away.

"Nice reflexes." Dean smiled.

"I knew it was going to happen, Dean." Sam said. "I know everything that's gonna happen."

"You don't know everything." Dean scoffed.

"Yeah. We actually do." Sam said, gesturing between him and I. Dean raised an eyebrow, looking between us.

"Yeah, right. Nice guess." The three of us said in unison.

Dean narrowed his eyes. "That was a-"

"It wasn't a guess." I interrupted.

"Right, you're a mind reader. Cut it out, Sam. Tori." We all said, again. The boys leaned towards each other and I leaned back in the seat, staring out the window as this all happened again.

"You think you're being funny but you're being really really childish! Sam Winchester wears makeup. Sam Winchester cries his way through sex. Sam Winchester keeps a ruler by the bed and every morning when he wakes up he-"

"Okay, enough!" Dean said, throwing his hands up.

"That's not all. Randy the cashier? He's skimming from the register." I told Dean. "Judge Myers? At night he puts on a furry bunny outfit."

Myers heard the last part, glancing back at me with furrowed brows. I just shrugged, ignoring him.

"Over there, that's Cal. He's gonna rob Tony the mechanic on the way home." Sam added.

"What's your point?" Dean asked.

"Our point is we've lived through every possible Tuesday. We've watched you die every possible way. We have ripped apart the Mystery Spot, burnt it down, tried everything we know to save your life, and we can't. No matter what we do, you die. And then we wake up. And then it's Tuesday again." Sam explained.

* * *

Once Dean had finished eating, we made our way back out to the street I was getting extremely sick of seeing.

"Dog." Sam said right before the dog started barking as we walked past it.

"There's gotta be some way out of this." Dean muttered.

"' _Where's my dang keys_?'" I quoted, as we passed the old dude, who muttered the same thing seconds later.

"' _Excuse me_.'" Sam said, right before the blonde girl walked into Dean.

"Excuse me." She mumbled, walking around him. He turned around to look at her butt for a second, before tuning back to face us.

"Yeah, you check her ass out every time, too." I sighed, gaining an apologetic look from Dean. We took a few more steps before he put a hand on mine and Sam's shoulders, stopping us.

"Hey. All the times we've walked down this street, I ever do this?" Dean asked, turning around to walk over to the girl. "Excuse me, miss!"

"No." Sam murmured, glancing down at me.

"How is possible that he's never done that?" I asked.

"Probably thought you'd rip his head off." Sam said, nonchalantly.

"That's never stopped him before." I muttered. Sam smiled down at me as Dean made his way back over to us, waving the piece of paper around.

"A hundred Tuesdays and you never bothered to check what she was holding in her hands?" Dean asked. Sam and I shrugged, not really having a reason. "The guy who went missing?"

"Yeah?" Sam asked.

"That's his daughter back there." Dean said. Sam quickly grabbed the flier and ran after the blonde girl as I stayed back with Dean.

"Hey..." Dean started, but stopped looking down at the ground.

"What?" I asked.

"It's just...I know I- I tend to...you know, look at other girls sometimes-"

"You mean, all the time?:

"Well...that's just me being a giant ass." Dean huffed, looking down at me. "You know it'll never go anywhere, right?"

"I know." I nodded, shooting him a small smile. "I've been dealing with you for a long time now, Dean."

"Right." Dean chuckled, pulling me to his side. The dog that was sitting in front of us started barking again. Dean looked a me and shrugged, leaning down to pet the dog with a smile of his face. "Hey buddy! Somebody need a friend? Good boy-"

I gasped as I the dog jumped up, his teeth sinking into Dean's throat. I didn't feel so bad for the stupid mutt anymore.

* * *

 **DINER – DAY**

I decided to switch it up today and sit next to Sam. Not that it was going to make a difference, but hell, who knows?

"So the police report says Dexter Hasselback is a professor, but that's not all he is." Sam said, looking down at his laptop.

"What is he?" I asked.

"Guy's quite the journalist. Columns in magazines, a blog. He writes about tourist attractions. Mystery spots, UFO crash sites- he gets his kicks debunking them. I mean, he's already put four of these places out of business. Look." Sam said, turning the laptop around for Dean to see.

" _Dexter Hasselback, truth warrior_? More like a pompous schmuck, if you ask me." Dean muttered around the food he was eating.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I mean, I've read everything the guy's ever written, and he must have weighed a ton, he was so full of himself."

"When'd you have time to do all this research?"

"Come on." Sam said, not answering Dean's question as he picked up the laptop. We slid out of the booth and stood up as Dean started chuckling to himself.

"What?" I asked

"I just, it's just funny, you know. I mean, this guy spends his whole life crapping on Mystery Spots and then he vanishes into one. It's kinda poetic, you know – just desserts."

"You're right, that is just desserts." Sam nodded.

I glanced over to the abandoned plate that sat on the counter, part of a pancake and pink syrup still left there. I nudged Sam, nodding my head towards the empty spot. He stared at it for a second before realization covered his features.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked. Sam and I turned to watch the man that was just sitting there walk past the window.

"Guy has maple syrup for the last hundred Tuesdays, all of a sudden he's having strawberry?" I asked.

"It's a free country. Man can't choose his own syrup, huh? What have we become?" Dean joked, an eyebrow raised.

"Not in this diner. Not today. Nothing in this place ever changes. Ever. Except us." Sam said, gesturing between him and I.

* * *

My eyes snapped open to the motel room again, but something was wrong. Dean didn't die and we were sent back here. I sat up and looked over at Sam, who was also sitting up. I shared a look with him, both of us knowing that something was wrong.

"Rise and shine!" Dean exclaimed, bending down to tie his shoes.

* * *

 **DINER – DAY**

Even though everything appeared to be the same all over again, I was watching that man in the gray suit like a hawk. He was eating his pancakes with maple syrup this time, but something was definitely off about him. I don't know why, but I could sense it.

"So you think you're caught in some kind of what, again?" Dean asked, taking a break from his food.

"Eat your food, Dean." I told him, pointing to his plate. He shrugged and started eating again. Out of no where the man got up and left the diner. Sam and I immediately got up, following him outside.

" _What's in the bag?_ " Dean asked, watching us go for a minute.

We ignored him and kept walking, following the man down the street into a parking lot. As soon as he got close enough, Sam grabbed him and slammed him into a fence, quickly putting the wooden stake to his throat.

"Hey!" The man shouted.

"Please, we know who you are. Or should I say, _what_." I said.

"Oh my god, please don't kill me." The man muttered, sounding panicked, looking back and forth between Sam and the stake with wide eyes.

"Uh, Sam? Tori?" Dean warned us, sounding confused.

"It took us a hell of a long time but we got it." Sam said, nodding to me.

"What?"

"It's your MO that gave you away. Going after pompous jerks, giving them their just desserts- your kind loves that, don't they?" I said, stepping closer.

"Yeah, sure, okay." The man said nervously, glancing at the stake. "Just put the stake down!"

"Sam, maybe you should-" Dean started.

"No!" Sam interrupted him. "There's only one creature powerful enough to do what you're doing. Making reality out of nothing, sticking people in time loops- in fact you'd pretty much have to be a god. You'd have to be a Trickster."

"Mister, my name is Ed Coleman, my wife's name is Amelia, I got two kids, for crying out loud I sell ad space-"

"Don't lie to me! I know what you are! We've killed one of your kind before!" Sam yelled at him. Suddenly he morphed into a familiar face. The Trickster we thought we killed years ago.

"Actually, bucko, you didn't." He said, a smirk on his face.

"Why are you doing this?"

"You're joking, right? You chuckleheads tried to kill me last time. Why wouldn't I do this?"

"And Hasselback, what about him?" Dean asked.

"That putz? He said he didn't believe in wormholes, so I dropped him in one." He laughed. "Then you guys showed up. I made you the second you hit town."

"So this is fun for you? Killing Dean over and over again?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Whoa, calm down there, Sweetcheeks. One, yes. It is fun. And two? This is so not about killing Dean. This joke is on you two. Watching your brother-" He gestured to Sam, then me. "-and the love of your life die, every day? Forever?"

"You son of a bitch."

"How long will it take you to realize? You can't save him. No matter what."

"Oh yeah? I kill you, this all ends now." Sam said, pointing the stake to his throat.

"Oh-oh, hey, whoa!" He held his hands up. "Okay. Look. I was just playing around. You can't take a joke, fine. You're out of it. Tomorrow, you'll wake up and it'll be Wednesday. I swear."

"You're lying." I said.

"If I am, you know where to find me. Having pancakes at the diner."

"It's easier to kill him." I said when Sam glanced back at me.

"Sorry, kiddo. Can't have that." He smiled, snapping his fingers.

* * *

" _Promise me I'll be back in time._ "

My eyes opened slowly, not snapping open rapidly like before. We were in the room again...but a different song was playing on the radio this time. I quickly sat up, looking over at Sam, who did the same.

"What, you guys gonna sleep all day?" Dean asked, standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

"No Asia." Sam said to me, small smile tugging at his lips.

"Yeah, I know. This station sucks." Dean mumbled. I looked over at the radio, reading the date on it.

"It's Wednesday." I muttered, looking over at Sam with wide eyes. "Oh my god, it's Wednesday."

"Yeah, usually comes after Tuesday." Dean said sarcastically. "Turn that thing off, will you?"

"What, are you kidding me? This isn't the most beautiful song you've ever heard!?" Sam exclaimed.

"No." Dean shook his head. "How many Tuesdays did you have?"

"I don't know. I lost count. Hey, wait. What do you remember?"

"I remember both of you were pretty whacked out of it yesterday and then I remember running into the Trickster. But that's about it."

"Alright. Pack your stuff, let's get the hell out of town. Now." Sam said, getting up. I quickly followed along, throwing things into bags.

"No breakfast?" Dean pouted.

"No breakfast." I said. "Sorry, babe."

Once we got most of our stuff together, Dean went to take it out to the Impala. I handed him one of the bags bag, reaching up on my toes to kiss him.

"What was that for?" Dean asked, a smile on his face.

"Just 'cause." I shrugged, smiling back.

"Well, alright..." Dean muttered, heading outside. Sam was standing over by his bag, smiling at us.

"You better wipe that grin off your face." I said, throwing a t-shirt at him.

"It's over, Tori." He said, relieved.

"I know. I finally feel like I can breathe. For now, at least." I sighed, in the middle of folding a shirt when I heard what sounded like a gunshot echo from outside. "You don't think...?"

"I- I don't know." Sam answered, already on his way outside. I was right behind him.

"Dean!" I called out. When I got no answer, we rushed down the stairs.

My eyes widened as I saw Dean laying on his side on the ground, blood collecting near him on the ground. I ran over to him, pulling him into my lap, seeing the blood on his shirt from the gunshot.

"Dean! No!" I cried, checking for his his pulse...but there wasn't one.

Sam dropped to his knees beside me, holding Dean's face in his hands. "No, no. Hey, hey, come on. Not today, not today, this isn't supposed to happen today, come on!"

"We're supposed to wake up." I mumbled, staring down at Dean.

* * *

 **Six months later**

I don't think I could even begin to describe the way I'd been feeling lately. There wasn't a day that passed by that I didn't think about Dean, that I didn't miss him. There was an emptiness inside of me, a horrible vacant hole. One that was left when he died.

Sam wasn't much better off than me. I can't remember the last time either one of us smiled...or spoke, really. Sam wasn't...Sam anymore. Hell, I wasn't me anymore.

As much as I wanted to go back to Bobby's, I couldn't seem to make myself. Especially after ignoring his calls like we had been. Sam needed me anyway, and we were too damn deep into hunting right now, up to our eyes in job after job, trying to kill time until we could find the Trickster.

I don't think I ever wanted anything so dead in my entire life.

At the moment, we were driving to a motel, Sam sitting in the passenger seat, keeping pressure on the gunshot wound he'd acquired from an altercation in a bar. I stopped the car in the parking lot, getting out with Sam, making our way into the motel room.

Sam pulled his shirt off, revealing a small bullet hole in his abdomen. "How bad is it?"

"Not bad. You'll live." I mumbled, pouring some peroxide over it before grabbing some tweezers. "Want a drink?"

"No."

"Alright." I nodded, hearing him hiss as I dug the tweezers into the wound, pulling out a small bullet. I placed it on the end table, getting a needle and some threat to stitch up the hole.

A little while later, Sam was coming out of the bathroom, heading over to his bed. I watched him from mine, letting out a sigh. My phone beeped beside me, notifying me to another message. I flipped it open, seeing another voicemail from Bobby.

" _Vic? It's Bobby...I found him._ "

I sat upright in the bed, my eyes widening. Sam glanced over, noticing the change in my demeanor. "What happened?"

"Bobby found him."

* * *

An uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach as we entered the Mystery Spot. It was nothing like my demon-sense. In fact, it felt _very_ different. I just didn't know what to make of it. Walking in a little further, we saw Bobby kneeling on the floor, with candles around him and three bowls, looking through a book. When he noticed we were there, he got up and came over to us.

"It's good to see you two." Bobby smiled hugging Sam. When Sam didn't respond, Bobby let go of him and hugged me. I couldn't help but hug him back. It was nice to have that again.

"What are we doing here, Bobby?" Sam asked.

"Well, it's the last place we're sure the Trickster worked his magic." Bobby said, pulling away from me.

"So?"

"So you want this thing? I found a summoning ritual to bring the Trickster here."

"What do we need?" I asked.

"Blood."

"How much blood?" Sam asked.

"Ritual says near a gallon. And it's gotta be fresh, too."

"Meaning we have to bleed a person dry." I said, looking up at Sam.

"And it's gotta be tonight. Or not for another fifty years." Bobby muttered. I took in a shaky breath, weighting my options. It was Dean…

"Then let's go get some." Sam said, turning to leave, with me close behind me. When Bobby didn't follow we stopped, looking back.

"You break my heart, kids. Especially you, Victoria."

"What?" I asked as Sam stood beside me.

"I'm not gonna let you murder an innocent man." Bobby said, shaking his head.

"Then why'd you bring us here?"

" _Why_? Because it was the only way you'd see me! Because I'm trying to knock some sense into you two! Because I thought you'd back down from killing a man!"

"Well, you thought wrong." Sam shrugged. "Leave the stuff, we'll do it."

"I told you, I'm not gonna let either one of you kill a man." Bobby repeated.

"It's none of your damn business what Tori or I do!"

"You want Dean back so bad?" Bobby said, pulling a knife out of his bag and holding it in front of me. "Fine."

I glanced down at the knife, then back up at Bobby. "What are you talking about?"

"Better me than a civilian."

"You're crazy, Bobby. We're not killing you." Sam said, taking a step back.

"Oh, now I'm the crazy one. Look, Vic, Sam, I'm old. I'm coming near the end of my trail. But you can keep fighting. Saving folk. But you need Dean. Let me get him back to you." He said, sounding sincere.

"Bobby-" I started.

"You, Dean and Sam...you are the closest thing I have to family. I wanna do this." Bobby said, pushing the knife towards me.

The feeling in my stomach got more intense as I brushed his hand when I grabbed the knife. Sam shot me a look, silently asking me what I was doing, but I ignored him, hoping he'd trust me.

"Okay." I nodded.

"Good." Bobby mumbled, turning around and lowering himself to his knees."Just make it quick."

"Yeah, okay, _Bobby._ " I pulled a stake out of my bag as Sam's eyes went wide. I grabbed him around the throat, shoving the stake through his back."But you wanna know why? Because you're not Bobby."

I twisted the stake, letting him falling forward. When nothing happened and I felt tears well up in my eyes, looking over at Sam in panic.

"Bobby?" Sam called.

"Bobby? Bobby!"

Finally his body vanished and the stake suddenly flew over Sam's shoulder. I turned to see The Trickster standing there, holding it with a grin.

"You're right. I was just screwing with you. Pretty good, though, Sweetcheeks. Smart. You knew it was me the whole time, didn't you?" He asked me, his eyebrow raised, a suspicious look on his face. I didn't answer, so he shrugged and continued. "Let me tell you, whoever said Dean was the dysfunctional one has never seen you with a sharp object in your hands. Holy _Full Metal Jacket_."

"Bring him back." I demanded.

"Who, Dean? Didn't my girl send you flowers? Dean's dead. He ain't coming back. His soul's downstairs doing the hellfire rumba as we speak."

"Bullshit!" I yelled. Sam grabbed my arms and held me back from doing something stupid.

"You got some serious spunk, I like that in a girl."

"Come over here and let me shove some of it up your ass then."

"Oh, wow!" He laughed.

"Just take us back to that Tuesday- er, Wednesday- when it all started. Please. We won't come after you, I swear." Sam pleaded.

"You swear?" The Trickster asked, looking over at me.

Sam squeezed my arms in warning. I rolled my eyes a bit, but agreed. "Yes, we swear."

"I don't know. Even if I could-"

"You can."

"True. But that don't mean I should. There's a lesson here that I've been trying to drill into those freakish Cro-Magnon skulls of yours."

"Lesson? What lesson?" Sam asked.

"This obsession to save Dean? The way you keep sacrificing yourselves for each other? Nothing good comes out of it. Just blood and pain. Dean's your weakness. And the bad guys know it, too. It's gonna be the death of you. Sometimes you just gotta let people go."

Sam shook his head. "We can't do that."

"Like it or not, this is what life's gonna be like without him."

"Please. Just- please. If you've ever known what it's like to love someone...to have people you care about not be there anymore..." I muttered, tears forming in my eyes. I couldn't believe I was trying to get something like him to relate, but I was willing to do anything. "It's horrible. And I know what's going to happen. Believe me, I do. But I will always do everything in my power to get him back."

I swear, for a second I got through to him somehow. The look he gave me said something...almost as though he did know what it was like to lose somebody.

"It's like talking to a brick wall." He sighed. "Okay, look. This all stopped being fun months ago. I'm over it."

"Meaning what?" I asked, getting hopeful.

"Meaning that's for me to know and you to find out." He said to Sam before looking at me, a small smile on his face. "Better pay extra attention to that feeling you're getting."

* * *

Suddenly, I was laying in a big comfortable bed. I cracked one eye open to see the motel room from months ago. I quickly sat up, looking over at Sam.

"What, you guys gonna sleep all day?" Dean asked, brushing his teeth. "No Asia. This station sucks."

Sam looked over at the radio, then back to me. "It's Wednesday."

"Yeah, usually comes after Tuesday. Turn that thing off." Dean yelled from the bathroom. I felt the tears well up in my eyes as Sam and I both jumped out of bed and rushed over to Dean, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Whoa, what the hell? How many Tuesdays did you two have?" Dean asked with a laugh, hugging us back. Sam pulled back a few seconds later, but I stayed in Dean's arms, not willing to let go.

God, it felt good to have him in my arms again. To be able to feel him again.

"Enough." I replied, glancing back up at Dean. "What, uh, what do you remember?"

"I remember you two were pretty whacked out of it yesterday. I remember getting up with the Trickster. That's about it."

Sam nodded. "Let's go."

"No breakfast?" Dean asked, pouting.

I smiled, kissing his lips. "No breakfast."

"Alright, I'll pack the car."

I hugging him tighter around his waist, stopping him. "Wait, you're not going anywhere alone."

"It's the parking lot, babe."

"Just- just trust her." Sam muttered from across the room. I smiled over at him and leaned into Dean's side a bit more.

Eventually we got dressed, everything was packed up and we were ready to go. I zipped the last bag closed and threw it over my shoulder.

"Hey, you two don't look so good. Something else happen?" Dean asked from the doorway.

I shrugged. "Same old, same old."

"I just had a really weird dream..." Sam said.

"Clowns or midgets?" Dean asked with a grin. I smiled at him, shaking my head. Sam tried to smile, but it came off as more of a grimace.

Once Dean had left to head down the steps, I turned back to Sam, pulling him into a hug as he was about to bend down to pick up his bag. I felt him kiss the top of my head, looking down at me with a small smile when I moved back before taking my bag from me as we headed towards the door.

The two of us turned around in the doorway, looking back at this room for hopefully the last time. I sighed and sharing a look with Sam as I turned off the light and he shut the door. We headed down the stairs to Dean, who was already waiting by the trunk of the Impala.

The three of us got in the car, heading off to our next destination…wherever that was.

Truthfully, I didn't care. Not as long we were together.

* * *

 **"Shower sex - that's complicated." ;)**

 **Since I have finished (yes, finished) writing Bring The Rain, I can safely say that this is the longest chapter of the story!**

 **Mystery Spot is like one of my favorite episodes ever, which you'd think it wouldn't be considering Dean dies every two seconds, but I just love it lol**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading!**

 **Follow here!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
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	12. Jus In Bello

_A warning to the people  
The good and the evil  
This is war  
To the soldier, the civilian  
The martyr, the victim  
This is war  
….._

 _A warning to the prophet  
The liar, the honest  
This is war  
To the leader, the pariah  
The victor, the messiah  
This is war  
…_

 _I do believe in the light  
Raise your hands into the sky  
The fight is done, the war is won  
Lift your hands toward the sun  
Toward the sun  
Toward the sun_

 _To the right, to the left  
We will fight to the death  
To the edge of the earth  
It's a brave new world  
From the last to the first_

 _ **Thirty Seconds to Mars – This Is War**_

* * *

Not too long after we'd left Florida, we got a lead on Bela's location, tracking her down to Colorado. And after an extremely long drive, we'd finally made it to her motel, breaking inside to look for the Colt.

"Any sign of it?" Dean asked.

"Nothing." Sam replied. "Are you sure this is Bela's room?"

"I'd say so." I muttered, holding up a couple wigs. The phone started ringing in the room, calling me over to it.

" _Tori? Sweetie, are you there?_ " Bela called.

"Where are you?"

" _Two states away by now._ "

"Where?"

" _Where's our usual quippy banter? I miss it_."

"Screw you, Bela. Give it back. Now."

" _Oh, your little pistol, you mean? Sorry, I can't at the moment._ "

"Do you get how many people are gonna die if you do this?"

" _What exactly is it that you think I plan to do with it?_ "

"Take the only weapon we have against an army of demons and sell it to the highest bidder."

" _You know nothing about me._ "

"I know you're a conniving bitch. And I'm gonna stop you."

" _Tough words for someone who can't even find me._ "

"Oh, we'll find you, _sweetie._ " I mumbled mockingly.

" _That's where you're wrong. You're about to be quite occupied. Did you really think I wouldn't take precautions?_ "

"What?" I asked, furrowing my brow in confusion when suddenly, the door burst open and a few police officers ran inside, their guns drawn on us.

"Hands in the air! Down on your knees." One ordered. I glanced over at Sam and Dean, dropping the phone as we fell to our knees.

"That bitch!" Dean exclaimed as the cops forced us to lie down on the floor.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you at government expense."

Hearing another set of footsteps enter the room, I looked up, seeing Victor Henriksen handing over us, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Hi guys...it's been a while."

* * *

 **POLICE STATION – DAY**

The door opened, revealing a near empty police station, save for Henriksen, another cop, a sheriff, and a female secretary, who grabbed her rosary beads tightly as we walked in. Henriksen's partner Reidy walked in front of us two cops held onto Sam and Dean, who were shackled together, leading them inside with another cop pushing me behind them.

Dean smirked at everyone in the room. "Why all the sourpusses?"

"I'll show you to the cells." Reidy said, grabbing Dean's arm harshly.

"Hey! Watch the merchandise!" Dean exclaimed, glancing over at the secretary, seeing her watch us with scared eyes. "We're not the ones you should be scared of, Nancy."

Reidy pulled Dean harshly sending him and Sam flying forward, nearly tripping over their connected chains. He brought them over to a cell, throwing them inside. I started to move over to their cell when the cop behind me pulled me back.

"Like we're gonna let you stay together." He scoffed.

"Yeah. Can't have you three getting it on in there." Reidy mumbled with grin. I glared at him, shaking my head as the cop guided me over to a cell across from them, locking me inside before walking away, leaving us alone.

Sitting down in my cell, I watched as Dean headed for the bed at the same time Sam headed for the door, both of them getting tangled up in the chains around their legs, almost falling over again.

"Dean, come on!" Sam exclaimed.

"Alright. Alright. Sit?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded as they awkwardly maneuvered around each other, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"So..." Dean started, looking between Sam and I. "How we gonna _Houdini_ out of this one?"

"Good question."

"There's a chopper on its way." I heard Henriksen announce as his voice got closer.

"But we don't have a helicopter pad." The sheriff replied.

"Then clear the damn parking lot." Henriksen said, walking over between our two cells. "You know what I'm trying to decide?"

"I don't know, what? Whether Cialis will help you with your little condition?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What to have for dinner tonight. Steak or lobster. What the hell? Surf and turf. I got a lot to celebrate. I mean, after all, seeing you in chains…"

"You kinky son of a bitch. We don't swing that way."

"Now, that's funny." He muttered dryly.

"You know, I wouldn't bust out the melted butter just yet. Couldn't catch us at the bank, couldn't keep us in that jail."

"You're right. I screwed up. I underestimated you." Henriksen said, turning towards me. "And your little girlfriend, too. See, I didn't count on you being that smart, but now I'm ready."

"Yeah, ready to lose us again?"

"Ready like a court order to keep you in a Supermaximum prison in Nevada till trial. Ready like isolation in a soundproof, windowless cell, so that between you and me…probably unconstitutional."

It was then that I got a sickening feeling in my stomach, realizing that he wasn't joking around.

"How's that for ready?" He continued, looking between the three of us. "Take a good, long look at each other. Because you three will never see one another again."

I stared over at Sam and Dean, seeing them looking back at me with worried eyes. This was it, we were done for. There was no getting out of this.

"You got the wrong guys." Dean mumbled.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. You fight monsters." Henriksen said, glancing at me in the cell behind him before looking back to Dean. "Sorry, Dean. Truth is, your daddy brainwashed you with all that devil talk and no doubt touched you in a bad place. That's all. That's reality.

Dean narrowed his eyes at him, practically fuming. "Why don't you shut your mouth?"

"Well, guess what? Life sucks, get a helmet. 'Cause everybody's got a sob story. But not everybody becomes a killer."

"You don't understand." I muttered, speaking for the first time since we'd been in here, causing him to turn towards me. "You just don't get it."

"Oh, I don't?"

"No."

"Why don't you explain it to me, then Victoria?" Henricksen said, raising an eyebrow. "You were always right under my nose, don't think that doesn't piss me off. But now I know you."

"You don't know me."

"Oh, I know you. Thanks to a small slip up about nearly a year and a half ago when you were admitted into St Mercy hospital under the alias Tara Hancock. A witness there identified the Winchesters. See, I followed Dean's trail and it led right to you – Victoria Anderson. Adopted by Peter and Rose Evans at the age of one because your real Mommy just didn't want you." Henriksen continued, stepping a bit closer as I flinched back at his harsh words.

"Then at fourteen, you disappeared from your town after your adoptive family was murdered, and you were never seen again. Everyone just assumed you were abducted, killed, left to rot somewhere. But they we wrong. Well, for the most part, anyway. You _were_ abducted...by John Winchester."

I shook my head. "That's not-"

"And he brainwashed you, too. Made you think all this crazy shit exists along with his sons." Hendricksen mumbled, shaking his head. "God knows what else he made a pretty, little thing like you do. Though, I'm sure I can guess some of the things involved. He was pretty sick. Tell me, how many times did he sell you in a bar for a pack of smokes?"

"Would you just shut the fuck up?! I snapped, stepping up to the bars as a wave of anger rushed through me. "You got us, you won! Good for you."

All of this, everything that had been going on. It was just getting to be too much. I was losing it.

"Woo, you got a mouth on you." He grinned, glancing at his watch as a helicopter sounded above us. "It's surf and turf time."

Suddenly I felt a wave of nausea hit me as I watched him go, greeting another man out in the office. I craned my neck around, trying to look out there.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, noticing my change. "Demon-sense?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Shit."

Just then, an older man walked around the corner, stepping over in between the cells, smiling at us. I knew immediately that it was him. "Sam and Dean Winchester. Victoria Anderson. I'm Deputy Director Steven Groves. This is a pleasure."

"Well, glad one of us feels that way." Dean mumbled.

"I've been waiting a long time for you two to come out of the woodwork." He said, pulling a gun out, shooting Dean in the shoulder.

"Dean!" I called, watching as he fell back, his blood spraying on the wall.

Sam grappled with the man through the bars, holding his arm away as he shot several more rounds off, narrowly missing Dean. Sam grabbed the gun from him as the man glanced back at me, his head whipping around and his eyes turning black as I started the exorcism.

"Sorry, I've gotta cut this short. It's gonna be a long night." He opened his mouth, allowing the black smoke to leave it, disappearing into the vent as the body fell to the ground.

Henriksen came running in, his gun drawn at Sam, who was still standing near the bars. "Put the gun down!"

"Wait. Okay." Sam muttered.

"He shot him!" The sheriff exclaimed.

"He didn't shoot him!" I said. "He didn't shoot anyone."

"He shot me." Dean said, nodding to the man on the ground.

"Get on your knees, now!" Henriksen yelled, keeping his gun on Sam.

"Okay. Don't shoot. Please. Look. Here." Sam mumbled, passing the gun through the bars. "Look. We didn't shoot him. Check the body. There's no blood. We did not kill him. Go ahead, check him."

Reidy went over to the body, checking it out. "Vic, there's no bullet wound."

"He's probably been dead for a while." I muttered.

"What did you do to him?" Henriksen asked, glaring over at me.

"We didn't do anything." Dean said, Henriksen's gun not pointed at him.

"Talk or I shoot."

"He was possessed." I said, calling Henriksen's attention back to me.

"Possessed? Right." He scoffed. "Fire up the chopper! We're taking them out of here now."

"Yeah! Do that!" Dean exclaimed.

"Bill?" Reidy called into a walkie-talkie. "Bill, are you there?"

When there was no answer Henriksen nodded for him to check outside, turning to leave as the sheriff and officer Amici backed away, their guns still pointed at us.

"Dean, are you okay?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Yeah." He nodded, still applying pressure to his wound. Suddenly, the lights cut off around us, sending the whole building into near darkness. "Oh, that can't be good."

Just then I felt a sharp pang of nausea in my stomach, groaning quietly as I nearly doubled over. "Oh, no."

"Tori? Tori, what's wrong?"

"I don't know..." I mumbled, squeezing my eyes shut as my stomach churned. "This just doesn't feel good. Something's wrong."

"What's the plan?" Henriksen asked, walking over to us. "Kill everyone in the station, bust you three out?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean snapped.

"I'm talking about your psycho friends. I'm talking about a blood bath."

"Okay, I promise you – whoever's out there is not here to help us."

"Look, you got to believe us." Sam said. "Everyone here is in terrible danger."

"You think?"

Dean shook his head. "Why don't you let us out of here so we can save your asses?"

"From what?" Henriksen asked. "You gonna say _demons_? Don't you dare say demons."

"You can make a joke out of it all you want." I muttered, looking up at him as he stepped over to my cell. "But I can _feel_ it. They're coming, a lot of them. And when shit hits the fan, don't you dare beg us to save you."

The cocky smirk disappeared off his face for a moment as he looked into my eyes. I'm not sure what he saw there, but when he grinned at me again, it wasn't the same carefree, arrogant one he wore before.

This time, he had to force it into place as he stepped back. "I'll make sure your cell's extra padded."

"Were you saying that just to scare him?" Dean asked after he'd walked away.

I glanced up at him, shaking my head. "No."

"Hey…" Sam called, looking up. I followed his gaze, seeing the secretary peeking around the corner. "Hey, uh, please. Please. We need your help. It's Nancy, right? Nancy, my brother's been shot. He's bleeding really bad. You think maybe you could get us a towel? Please? Just one clean towel? Look. Look at us. We're not the bad guys. I swear."

Dean smiled over at Nancy as she stared, turning to leave. "Nice try."

A few moments of silence passed before Nancy came back over, walking cautiously towards them with a towel in her hand. I smiled at her as she glanced over at me.

"Thank you. It's okay." Sam said, holding his hand between the bars.

When Nancy went to give it to him, Sam grabbed her arm, dragging her against the bars. My eyes widened as I watched her scream, not exactly sure what was going on here. Hearing her distress, Officer Amici ran in with a rifle, pointing it at Sam.

"Let her go! Let her go!" He ordered. Sam released her amr, holding his hands up as Nancy backed away, looking terrified. "Try something again, get shot. And not in the arm."

"Okay." Sam nodded. After they'd left, Dean smacked Sam hard on the arm.

"What the hell was that?"

"We could use this." Sam said, holding up Nancy's rosary.

"Smart." Dean smiled, hissing as he pressed the towel to his wound. It killed me to not be with him right now.

"Are you okay, baby?" I asked.

"Yeah. You?"

"I guess."

"Demon-sense?"

"Yup." I nodded, holding my stomach as it flopped.

"We're like sitting ducks in here." Sam mumbled.

"Yeah, I know. Would it kill these cops to bring us a snack?!" Dean called, shouting the last words towards the office.

"How many you figure are out there?" Sam asked, glancing over at me.

I shrugged."I have no idea."

"However many they are, they could be possessing anyone. Anyone could just walk right in."

"It's kind of crazy, right? I mean it's like they're coming for us. They've never done that before. It's like we got a contract on us. Think it's because we're so awesome? I think it's 'cause we're so awesome." Dean smiled, trying to lighten the mood, his grin fading when he realized neither one of us were very amused at the moment.

Just then the sheriff came in, walking over to Sam and Dean's cell in silence, opening the door.

"Uh, sheriff?" Sam asked, looking up at him in confusion.

"It's time to go."

"What do you think you're doing?" Henriksen asked, walking over.

"We're not just gonna sit around here and wait to die." He replied. "We're gonna make a run for it."

"It's safer here."

"There's a SWAT facility in Boulder."

Henriksen shook his head, stepping inside the cell with them "We're not going anywhere."

"The hell we're not."

Suddenly, Henriksen raised his gun, shooting the sheriff point-blank in the head, sending him flying to the ground, his keys sliding across the floor. Sam and Dean quickly grappled with him, trying to push his head into the water. I bent down, spotting the sheriff's keys a small distance away from my cell. I reached through the bars, feeling them dig into my skin as I stretched for the keys, eventually grabbing them.

Hurriedly, I fit a few of the keys in the lock as the boys still fought with Henriksen in their cell, trying to find the right one to unlock my cell. After what felt like forever, I finally did, rushing over to Sam and Dean, helping them push Henriksen down onto the toiler bowl where the rosary sat.

Sam and I kept his head in the water as he struggled, his skin burning. Just then, Phil ran inside with his rifle as Dean quickly stood, pointing Henriksen's gun at him. "Stay back!"

" _Exorcizamus te, Omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica-"_ I started the exorcism over again. Henriksen lifted his head out of the water, yelling as his faced burned while I continued the exorcism.

"Hurry up!"

"Trying!" I shouted in between Latin.

"It's too late." Henriksen said, his eyes turning black as they stared into mine. "They're already coming."

I gritted my teeth, shoving him back into the water with Sam, quickly finishing the exorcism. Henriksen's head flew back as black smoke poured out of it, flying into the vent again. Once it was all out of him, he fell to the floor, not moving.

"Is he- is he dead?" Nancy asked, staring over with wide eyes. Just then, Henriksen regained consciousness, coughing up some water.

"Henriksen! Hey. Is that you in there?" Sam asked, helping him up to sit on the bed.

He stared at the ground, glancing up at us. "I- I shot the sheriff."

"But you didn't shoot the deputy." Dean commented with a smile. I couldn't help but chuckle, the both of us gaining a glare of disbelief from Sam.

"What?" I shrugged. "It was funny."

"What is wrong with you two?" Sam asked, shaking his head.

"Five minutes ago, I was fine..." Henriksen mumbled. "And then..."

"Let me guess. Some nasty black smoke jammed itself down your throat?" Dean asked.

"You were possessed." I told him.

"Possessed, like… _possessed_?"

"Yeah. That's what it feels like. Now you know."

"I owe the biggest _I told you so_ ever." Dean said, handing Henriksen his gun back.

"Officer Amici. Keys." Henriksen called, looking up at the cop with his hand out. He nodded, tossing Henriksen a set of keys and he proceed to unlock our handcuffs and chains. "Alright, so how do we survive?"

"Got any paint?" I asked.

" _Paint_?"

"Yeah."

"What's paint gonna do-"

"You wanna survive? Listen to us." Dean interjected.

"Alright." Henriksen nodded, leading us into a supply closet where there were a few cans of spray paint.

We grabbed them, heading back out to the office where Sam started drawing two large devil's traps on the ground as I tended to Dean's wound. He hissed as I poured some alcohol over it, dabbing it dry with a towel.

"Do you have a knife or something?" I asked, looking up at the men in the office. "Tweezers?"

"I have tweezers." Nancy called, grabbing them out of her purse, bring them over to me.

"Thank you." I said, shooting her a small smile as I went back to Dean's wound. "Take a deep breath."

"Yeah." Dean nodded, pulling in a breath as I dug the bullet out. Thankfully, it wasn't in too deep, so it didn't take that long to get. "God, I hate getting shot."

"I know." I nodded, placing a bandage on his wound, taping it several times to make sure it stayed put. "There you go. You're good as new."

"Don't touch these until they're dry." Sam said, stepping away from the devil's trap he'd just finished.

"Don't cut any of the lines either, or they won't work." I added, watching as Officer Amici and Henriksen prepared a few guns.

"Those aren't gonna do much good." Dean commented.

"We got an arsenal here." Amici said.

"You don't poke a bear with BB gun. That's just gonna make them mad."

"What do you need?" Henriksen asked.

"Salt. Lots and lots of salt."

"Salt?" Amici asked incredulously.

"What, is there an echo in here?"

"There's road salt in the storeroom." Nancy muttered.

"Perfect. We need salt at every window and every door." Dean said as Henriksen and Amici left to go get the salt. I tuned back to Nancy, seeing her fingering the edge of her cardigan.

"How are you feeling, Nancy?" I asked.

"Okay." She nodded. "When I was little, I would come home from the church and start to talk about the devil. And my parents would tell me to stop being so literal. I guess I showed them, huh?"

"I guess so." I chuckled along with her.

"Hey, where's my car?" Dean asked office Amici as he walked back in with a bag of salt.

"Impound lot out back."

"Okay." Dean nodded, turning to make his way outside.

"Wait." He called, stopping Dean. "You're not going out there."

"Yeah, I got to get something out of my trunk."

"Are you crazy?"

Dean just stared over at him, raising an eyebrow before turning back towards the front door again. I followed, walking behind him as we cautiously made our way outside over to the lot out back where a bunch of cars sat.

"You okay, Tor?" Dean asked as we searched for the Impala.

"Yeah." I shrugged, my stomach still churning. "I don't know what's going on."

"We're gonna get through this." Dean said, practically running over to the Impala. "God, baby, it's good to see you again."

I smiled at him, shaking my head as I held a bag open while he loaded things into it from the trunk. Suddenly, the lights around the impound lot started to flicker and I felt a wave of nausea hit me like a ton of bricks, nearly knocking me to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked. I looked up to the sky, my eyes widening when I saw a huge cloud of black smoke coming towards us.

"Dean..." I mumbled, nodding for him to follow my gaze.

"Shit."

"They're coming."

Dean quickly slammed the trunk shut, grabbing my arm as the both of us running as fast as we could to get back inside the building. Everyone turned to us as we rushed in, taking in our panicked looks with confusion.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"They're coming!" Dean announced. "We have to hurry."

The sound of Nancy screaming echoed throughout the room as she backed away from a window, staring at the black smoke with scared eyes. I grabbed her, pulling her with me as we ran into the main office where Henriksen was standing. Dean took the bag from me, grabbing out a couple guns, tossing one to Sam, then me.

The lights started flickering around us as it became darker from the smoke covering the building. At the moment, I was trying to keep myself upright, feeling as though I was going to pass out. Nancy stayed beside me, clutching the cross around her neck. Dust rained down from the ceiling, covering us with debris before everything went deadly quiet and the smoke disappeared from around the building.

"Everybody okay?" Sam asked.

"Define _okay_." Henriksen mumbled.

"Alright, everybody needs to put these on." Dean said, passing out protection amulet necklaces. "They'll keep you from being possessed."

"What about you three?" Henriksen asked. In unison, the three of us pulled our shirts over, Sam and Dean revealing the anti-possession symbols tattooed on the left sides of their chests and mine next to my left collar bone. "Smart. How long you had those?"

"Not long enough." I muttered.

A small amount of time passed as we set things up around the station trying to demon-proof the entire place. Once we had pretty much finished, a huge crowd of demons had gathered around the building, possessing people.

"Hey, that's Jenna Rubner." Nancy called, pointing to a woman with long red hair and black eyes in the middle of the crowd.

"That's not Jenna anymore." Sam informed her.

"That's where all that black demon smoke went?"

"Looks like."

"Shotgun shells full of salt." Henriksen mumbled, shaking his head.

"Whatever works." Dean replied, filling his gun with bullets.

"Fighting off monsters with condiments. So, turns out demons are real."

"FYI, ghosts are real, too. So are werewolves, vampires, changelings, evil clowns that eat people."

"Okay, then."

"If it makes you feel better, Bigfoot's a hoax."

"It doesn't. How many demons?" Henriksen asked, looking up at Dean, who glanced over to me.

"I have no idea. Haven't gotten there yet." I shrugged. "Probably a lot."

"So when you said you could sense them-"

"She has a demon-sense." Dean explained.

"So, what are you, then?"

"What? Are you asking me if I'm human?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, to which, Henriksen just shrugged. "Yeah, I am."

"This is fucking crazy." He mumbled, shaking my head. "You know what my job is?"

"You mean besides locking up the good guys?" Dean asked. "I have no idea."

"My job is boring. It's frustrating. You work three years for one break, and then maybe you can save...a few people. Maybe. That's the payoff. I've been busting my ass for fifteen years to nail a handful of guys and all this while, there's something off in the corner so big. So yeah…sign me up for that big, frosty mug of wasting my damn life."

"You didn't know."

"Now I do." Henriksen paused, glancing up at Dean. "What's out there? Can you guys beat it? Can you win?"

"Honestly? I think the world's gonna end bloody. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't fight. We do have choices. I choose to go down swinging." Dean shrugged.

"Plus you got nothing to go home to."

"No home to even go to, really."

"What?"

"This isn't the kind of job where you can stay in one place for very long." I interjected, leaning against one of the desks for support. "We weren't running around from state to state just to dodge you for all those months."

"So you just ride around doing this?"

"Pretty much." I shrugged.

"What about you?" Dean asked. "You rockin' the white picket fence?"

"Nope." He replied. "Empty apartment, string of angry ex-wives."

"Imagine that."

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded down one of the hallways, calling our attention to the office it came from. We ran over to it, seeing the salt line broken in the window, Ruby standing in the devil's trap in front of it, breathing heavily.

"How do we kill her?" Henriksen asked, holding up his rifle.

"We don't." Sam said as Dean sighed in exasperation, shaking his head.

"She's a demon."

"She's here to help us."

"Are you kidding?" Amici asked, he and Nancy peeking around the corner.

"Are you gonna let me out?" Ruby asked. Sam went over to her, scratching the devil's trap on the floor to release her. "And they say chivalry's dead. Does anyone have a breath mint? Some guts splattered in my mouth while I was killing my way in here."

I shook my head at her as she walked past, bumping her shoulder into mine on her way out into the office. Sam stayed behind to fix the salt line while Dean and I followed after Ruby, Henriksen behind us.

"So, how many are out there?" I asked.

"Thirty at least. That's so far."

"Oh, good. Thirty." Dean mumbled sarcastically. "Thirty hit men all gunning for us. Who sent them?"

"You didn't tell them?" Ruby asked Sam, who was now standing in the doorway. "Oh, I'm surprised."

"Tell us what?"

"There's a big new up and corner. Real pied piper."

"Who is he?"

"Not _he_. _Her_. Her name is Lilith. And she really, really wants Sam's intestines on a stick. 'Cause she sees him as competition."

"Wait, you knew about this?" I asked, looking over at Sam, who didn't answer, looking to the ground.

"Well, Jesus, Sam. Is there anything else we should know?" Dean asked angrily.

"How about the three of you talk about this later? We'll need the Colt." Ruby said, looking between the boys. "Where's the Colt?"

"It got stolen." Sam told her.

"I'm sorry. I must have blood in my ear. I thought I just heard you say that you were stupid enough to let the Colt get grabbed out of your thick, clumsy, idiotic hands-"

"Hey, back off." I spat.

"Or what? You'll shoot me? Oh, wait a minute, you can't."

"No, but I can exorcise you."

Ruby glared at me for a moment, seeing in my eyes that I wasn't joking, and she wasn't about to test me. "Fine. Since I don't see that there's no other any option, there's one other way I know how to get you out of here alive."

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"I know a spell. It'll vaporize every demon in a one-mile radius. Myself included."

"So, you're willing to die?" I asked incredulously.

"Do we have another choice?"

"Fine with me." I shrugged. "What do we need to do?"

"Aw, you can't do anything. This spell is very specific. It calls for a person of virtue."

Dean nodded."I got virtue."

"Nice try." Ruby chuckled. "You're not a virgin."

"Nobody's a virgin." Dean laughed. Ruby shot him a pointed look, glancing over at Nancy, who looked away in embarrassment. "No. No way. You're kidding me. You're- you"

"What?" Nancy shrugged uncomfortably. "It's a choice, okay?"

"So, y-you've never…not even once? I mean, not even-"

"Dean, shut up." I said, slapping his arm lightly.

"So, this spell...what can I do?" Nancy asked, smiling over at Ruby.

"You can hold still while I cut your heart out of your chest." She replied harshly.

"What?"

"Are you crazy?" Dean asked.

"I'm offering a solution." Ruby muttered.

"You're offering to kill somebody." I said.

"And what do you think's gonna happen to this girl when the demons get in?"

"We're gonna protect her. That's what." Henriksen interjected.

"Excuse me." Nancy mumbled quietly.

"Very noble." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Ex– excuse me."

"You're all gonna die. Look, this is the only way."

I shook my head. "This is no way that we're gonna let you-"

"Would everybody please shut up?!" Nancy exclaimed, gaining our attention. "All the people out there… will it save them?"

"It'll blow the demons out of their bodies." Ruby explained. "So if their bodies are okay… yeah."

After a long pause, Nancy nodded, a look of determination on her face. "I'll do it."

"Hell no." Henriksen shook his head.

"No, no." Dean muttered. "You don't need to do this."

"All my friends are out there."

"We don't sacrifice people!" I exclaimed, looking over at Ruby. "We're not doing this."

Ruby shrugged. "We don't have a choice."

"Yeah, well, your choice is not a choice." Dean snapped.

"Sam, you know I'm right." Ruby said, looking over to Sam, who had been eerily silent throughout this entire conversation.

"Sam? What the hell is going on? Sam, tell her."

"It's my decision." Nancy interjected.

"Damn straight, sweetie pie." Ruby nodded.

"Stop! Nobody kill any virgins." Dean said, throwing his arms out, looking over to his brother.. "Sam, we need to talk to you."

Dean and I walked over towards Sam, pushing him a little ways down the hallway. I stood in front of him, folding my arms. "What's going on with you?"

"Please tell me you're not actually considering this. We're talking about holding down a girl and cutting out her heart." Dean said.

"And we're also talking about thirty people out there." Sam replied, glancing over at me. "Innocent, possessed people who are all gonna die, along with everyone in here."

"It doesn't mean that we throw away the rule book and stop acting like humans. I'm not gonna let that demon kill some nice, sweet, innocent girl, who hasn't even been laid." Dean said, shaking his head in despair. "I mean, look, if that's how you win wars, then I don't want to win."

"Then what? What do we do?"

"I got a plan. I'm not saying it's a good one. I'm not even saying that it'll work. But it sure as hell beats killing a virgin."

"What is it? What's the plan?"

"Open the doors, let them all in and we fight."

"Are you kidding?"

"No."

"You can't want to go along with this." Sam said, looking over to me.

"It's not a bad idea." I shrugged.

"How is it not a bad idea?"

"Because, Sam, this is a police station. There's an intercom. The feed goes throughout the whole place. I can record the exorcism, save people. And Nancy doesn't have to die for it."

* * *

Once Sam and I had figured out the intercom system, we made our way back out into the office where Dean sat, loading another gun with salt shells.

"Get the equipment to work?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"So?"

"So, this is insane." Sam mumbled.

"You win understatement of the year." Ruby huffed.

"Look, I get it, you think-"

"I don't think…I know. It's not gonna work." Ruby interrupted Dean, getting up to leave. "So long, kids."

"So, you're just gonna leave?" Sam asked.

"Hey. I was gonna kill myself to help you win. I'm not gonna stand here and watch you lose." Ruby said, walking over to Sam. "And I'm disappointed because I tried. I really did, but clearly I bet on the wrong horse. Do you mind letting me out?"

Sam glanced down, not saying a word. I went over to Ruby, pushing her towards the front door. She shrugged my arm off, glaring back at me as I bent down, breaking the devil's trap to let her out.

"I'm leaving. Who wants to stop me?" She asked, pulling her knife out as the demons parted, letting her through.

After a little while, we were all in our positions with Sam and Henriksen over in the main office while Dean and I stood near the front doors.

"You okay?" Dean asked, glancing down at me.

"Yeah." I nodded, pulling in an unsteady breath.

"Ready?"

"As I ever be."

"Okay." Dean said, calling back to Sam. "All set?"

"Yeah!" Sam shouted.

"Let's do this."

We broke the salt lines and devil's trap protecting the door. I glanced over at Dean, taking in another breath before pushing the door open, quickly stepping back. At first, nothing happened, but after a few seconds, a demon ran into the building, swinging as they went. I shot at him as he advanced, a few other demons rushing behind him.

"Go, go!" Dean yelled.

The two of us ran down the hallway to the office, seeing Henriksen grappling with a demon, splashing holy water on him, knocking him back. He joined us as we moved into the office, shooting demons as we went. The woman with long red, hair broke in through one of the windows, stalking over to Sam, who tried to fling holy water on her, but couldn't because his flask was empty.

With a flick of her wrist, she pinned Sam and Dean against the wall, keeping them there as Henriksen fought another demon, a bunch of them crowding around us now. One of the demons turned to me, a small grin on her face as she stalked forward. I turned, running for the audio room with her right behind me.

Just as I turned the corner into the room, she grabbed me around the neck, pulling me back to her. I grabbed the flask from my pocket, splashing holy water on her face. She let out a scream, her skin sizzling as I broke away from her, running over to the tape deck. It didn't take too long for her to grab me again, turning me around, punching me hard in the face.

I felt the blood pool out of my nose as I made one final reach behind me for the tape as I tried to put her away, pressing the button, hearing my voice echo throughout all the speakers in the building.

The exorcism rang through the rooms as demons started screaming. The one in front of me dug her nails into my skin as she threw her head back, smoke flying from it as her body fell to the floor. I quickly checked her pulse, taking a moment of silence when I realized she was dead.

I ran back out of the room, seeing the boys still pinned to the wall, black smoke swirling around the ceiling. I lifted my gun, shooting a salt round into Jenna, who was covering her eyes, sending her flying backwards. No longer able to drown out the exorcism, the black smoke poured right out of her.

Both Sam and Dean fell to the ground as an explosion of light erupted from the ceiling and the smoke disappeared. I went over to the boys, helping them boths to their feet.

Dean wiped the blood off my top lip with his thumb, letting out a sigh. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded, my nausea completely fading away as the electricity flickered back on.

* * *

Once everything was said and done, we all gathered back into the main office, sitting around, trying to recoup after everything that had occurred. Facing this amount of demons seemed to take a serious toll on me, and I was exhausted.

"I better call in. Hell of a story I won't be telling." Henriksen muttered.

"So what are you gonna tell them?" Sam asked.

"The least ridiculous lie I can come up with in the next five minutes."

"Good luck with that. Not to pressure you or anything, but what are you planning to do about us?" Dean asked.

"I'm gonna kill you. The Winchester's and Victoria Anderson were in the chopper when it caught on fire. Nothing left. Can't even identify them with dental records." Henriksen said, shooting us a small smile. "Rest in peace, guys."

"Thanks." I nodded, shaking his hand.

"Sure. Now get out of here." He said, raising an eyebrow as he picked up the phone, dialing a number.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

As we stepped into the room, I pulled my jacket off, letting out a tired breath. The boys followed me in, shutting the door behind us.

"Well, it feels good to know that we won't have to worry about Henriksen anymore." Dean muttered.

"Yeah..." I sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. Just then there was a knock on the door. Sam answered it, looking surprised to see Ruby walking in.

"Turn on the news." She ordered. I reached for the remote, turning on a local news station.

"T _he community is still reeling from the tragedy that happened just a few hours ago. Authorities believe a gas main ruptured causing the massive explosion that ripped apart the police station and claimed the lives of everyone inside._ " The reporter said. " _Among the deceased, at least six police officers and staff, including sheriff Melvin Dodd, deputy Phil Amici, and secretary Nancy Fitzgerald as well as three FBI agents, identified as Steven Groves, Calvin Reidy, and Victor Henriksen._ "

"Shit." I huffed, trying to ignore Ruby's _I told you so_ , look.

" _Three fugitives in custody were also killed. We'll continue to follow the story here at the scene, but for now, back to you, Jim._ " The reporter finished.

"Must have happened right after we left." Sam muttered.

"Considering the size of the blast smart money's on Lilith." Ruby said, throwing us each a hex bag.

"What's in these?" Dean asked.

"Something that'll protect you. Throw Lilith off your trail…for the time being, at least."

"Thanks." Sam nodded.

"Don't thank me. Lilith killed everyone. She slaughtered your precious little virgin, plus a half a dozen other people. So after your big speech about humanity and war, turns out your plan was the one with the body count. Do you know how to run a battle? You strike fast and you don't leave any survivors. So no one can go running to tell the boss. So next time… we go with my plan." Ruby left, slamming the door shut behind her.

I absolutely hated myself for even admitting it...but she was right. We fucked up. It seemed as though we were getting worse and worse at saving people. Whatever we thought was the right thing, always turned out wrong lately.

* * *

 **You know what's next...** _**Ghost...Ghostfacers**_ **;)**

 **Sometimes it's good to write a chapter that isn't full of heavy stuff** **, so I'm super excited for that.**

 **Thanks for** **reading!  
**

 ** **Go check out my latest tweet for an awesome drawing of Jensen (that I did not do, by the way) it's amazing. Seriously.****

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
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Facebook: Phoenix Writes**


	13. Ghostfacers

_If there's something strange  
In your neighborhood  
Who you gonna call?  
Ghostbusters  
If there's something weird  
And it don't look good  
Who you gonna call?  
Ghostbusters_

 _I ain't afraid of no ghost  
I ain't afraid of no ghost  
…._

 _If you're seeing things  
Running through your head  
Who you gonna you call?  
Ghostbusters  
There's an invisible man  
Sleeping in your bed  
Who you gonna call?  
Ghostbusters  
….._

 _If you're all alone  
Pick up the phone  
And call  
Ghostbusters_

 _(I ain't afraid of no ghost)_  
 _I hear he likes the girls_  
 _(I ain't afraid of no ghost)_  
 _If you've had a dose of a freaky ghost, baby_  
 _You better call  
Ghostbusters_

 _(Let me tell you something)  
Busting makes me feel good_

 _Don't get caught alone_  
 _When it comes through your door_  
 _Unless you just want some more_  
 _I think you better call_  
 _Ghostbusters_

 _ **Walk The Moon – Ghostbusters**_

* * *

One of the things I found myself doing constantly lately was staying near Dean. I didn't want to leave his side. I just wanted to be able to see him, to touch him, knowing very well that in just a few months time, I wouldn't ever get to do that again. I could tell he felt the same way, as we both just sort of never left each other's side without ever verbally admitting to why we were so clingy.

The more time that passed, our options seemed to decrease rapidly. There was next to nothing left we could do right now. Not without the Colt, anyway. And there was definitely no lead on that.

With all of us knowing the date was closing in, Dean suggested that we took a chance on the _hunt of a lifetime_ in the Morton house. Considering it was a leap year, everything was just falling perfectly into place. According to Dean, of course. Sam didn't want to come, thinking it was horrible idea, but I just couldn't seem to say no to Dean right now.

Eventually Sam agreed, but he still wasn't happy about it.

"What time is it?" Dean asked, glancing up at me as picked the lock on the front door.

"It's eleven-forty-five."

"Great."

"Yeah, great." Sam scoffed as Dean pushed the door open, making his way inside.

"Oh, god. What was that?" A guy's voice echoed from further inside.

"Who the fuck is stupid enough to come here tonight?" Dean asked, glancing back at Sam and I. We just stared at him blankly, neither one of us saying anything. "Well, we know what we're doing."

"This is spooky, man. This place." Another man's voice chimed in.

"Time to do some damage control." Dean sighed, pulling up his flashlight as we walked further into the house, seeing to men standing in the living room. They screamed when our flashlight were shined on them, jumping back. "Freeze! Police officers! Don't move!"

"Alright, alright. Take it easy." Sam said.

"Let's see some identification."

"Come on, let's see some ID" I pushed.

"What, are we under- under arrest?" The blonde guy asked, handing Dean his ID.

"We are unarmed." The red-headed man muttered.

"Want to explain that weirdo outfit, Mr. Corbett?" Dean asked.

"Wait. I know you." The red-haired man paused, leaning towards me, staring into my eyes.

I smacked him with my flashlight, pushing him back. "Back off."

"I know you."

"Yeah, sure you do." Dean rolled his eyes, holding out a hand. "Give me some identification."

"Yeah, ho- whoa, hold on a second." He said staring at me with wide eyes. "You're the hot girl that was hitting on me."

"I'm sorry?" I asked incredulously. " _I_ was hitting on _you_?"

"Yeah. You were all over me. We had a connection."

"You had a what?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. I stared over at the man a little more closely, shining my light in his face, suddenly realizing who he was.

"Holy shit." I huffed.

"What?"

"Remember? In west Texas? That tulpa?"

"Those two goofballs that almost got us killed?" Sam asked. "The hellhounds or something?"

"Oh, fuck me." Dean mumbled.

"Yeah, we're not hellhounds anymore, okay? It didn't test that well."

"Ed, what's going on?" Corbett asked.

"They're not cops, buddy. No, not at all." Ed said.

"Ed, you had a partner, too, didn't you? A different guy?" Dean asked.

"Oh, yeah."

"Is he around here somewhere?"

"He's running around, chasing ghosts."

"Okay, well, listen, you and Rambo need to get your girlfriends and get out of here."

"Alright. Listen here, chisel chest, we were here first. We've already set up base camp. We beat you." Ed said, raising an eyebrow.

Dean laughed, glancing down at me. "They were here first."

"Huh." I murmured, smiling back at him. "Guess that means we have to leave, then."

"Guess so."

"Adios." Ed smiled. Dean looked back to him, grabbing his collar tightly. Ed's eyes widened in fear as he stared up at him. "Oh, god."

"Ed...where's your partner?"

"Up- upstairs."

"What are you doing in the Morton House, on leap year? What are you thinking?"

"We're here to spend the night, okay? Now could you- I mean, could you- if you don't mind, I just-" Ed sputtered, pointing down to Dean's hands that were holding his collar tightly. Dean rolled his eyes, letting him go. Ed glanced back to Corbett, a grin on his face. "Told him, huh?"

Dean stepped over towards Ed, making him jump back in fear. I shook my head. "Why are you spending the night here?"

"It's for our TV show."

"Great. Perfect." Sam mumbled.

"Yeah, nobody's ever spent the night before." Corbett said.

"Actually, yeah, they have." Dean said.

Ed shook his head. "We've never heard of them."

"Yeah, you know why? 'Cause the ones that have haven't lived to talk about it!"

"Oh, come on, I don't believe you."

"Missing persons reports go back almost half a century. John Graham stayed on a dare. Gone. Julie Wilkerson. Gone. There a bunch more." I said.

"All of them came to just stay the night through, always on a leap year." Sam added, showing Ed a couple of records. "The only body they ever found was the last owner, Freeman Daggett."

"These look legit." Ed muttered.

"They are legit. Look, Ed, we ain't got much time here, buddy. Starting at midnight, your friends are going to die."

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Guys! Guys! Oh, my god! Oh, my god!" The man I recognized as Ed's friend cam running down the stairs, another man and woman holding camera's behind him. "We got one! We saw one!"

"Get outta here!" Ed exclaimed.

"It was a full apparition! It was like a class four. It was a spectral illumination! It-"

"It was amazing!" The girl chimed in excitedly.

"Hey, aren't those the dicks from Texas?" Ed's friend asked, glancing over at Sam and Dean before looking to me. "And the hot girl that hit on you."

"Yes, indeed, Harry."

"I did not hit on him." I said, folding my arms.

"Don't try to deny your feelings." Ed smiled.

"Cut the shit." Dean snapped. "Now, let's have this reunion across the street."

"What are you guys doing here?" Harry asked.

"Come on. We'll get you ice cream, our treat." Dean said, trying to bribe them. "What do you say? Let's go."

"Yeah, I say _no_."

"Look at this. Okay, honest-to-god proof, alright?" The girl said, playing a clip of footage on the laptop in her arms for them. All I heard was muffled voices and then screaming.

"Are you kidding me?!" Ed asked excitedly.

"Yeah. No, not kidding." Harry muttered.

"What kind of reading did we get?" The other guy with the camera asked.

"Uh, it was a 10.9."

"10.9?" Ed asked.

"Yeah, it was 10.9. It was almost 11. I came out, and I was like, _what's going on?_ And I was like- wait, watch this." Harry said, pointing to the screen. "Oh! He got blasted. It was crazy."

As they gushed over the video, Sam, Dean and I made our way away from the group, moving into the next room so we could speak to each other.

"Think we were off on this?" Sam asked. "I mean, that was just a death echo."

"Yeah, but what's it doing here?" Dean asked. "Did anybody get shot here?"

"No, not that I could find."

"What's a death echo?" The man with the camera asked, pointing it directly into my face.

I batted the lens away, rolling my eyes. "We have a problem here and a ghost isn't it."

"What's a death echo?"

"Echoes are trapped in a loop, okay? They keep replaying how they died over and over and over again, usually in the place where they were ganked." Dean told him quickly to shut him up so he wouldn't ask again. "It's about as dangerous as a scary movie."

"So maybe the echo's not dangerous, but maybe something else is." Sam suggested.

"You're right." Dean nodded, turning back to the small group. "Alright, we need to get out of here, guys. Come on, let's go. Pack it up."

"Come on, go." I said as we corralled them over to the front door, pushing them as they stumbled over each other.

"What about all of our equipment?" The girl asked. "What are we gonna-"

"Lots of fun. Let's go." Dean mumbled.

"We got more material. We got all kinds of stuff. We'll make you guys recurring guest stars." Harry prompted, looking over at me with hopeful eyes.

"No." I said, shaking my head. "Leave."

"Wait!" Ed exclaimed, looking around. "Where's Corbett?"

"Listen, you guys leave and we'll get your friend."

"No." Ed shook his head. "No man left behind."

"No one's gonna get left behind! Don't be so dramatic. We'll get him out." I said, rolling my eyes. Suddenly, a loud scream echoed through the house in the distance.

Ed looked up the stairs in shock. "That was Corbett."

"Corbett!" Harry called, rushing for the stairs.

"Corbett! It's okay!" The woman shouted, following them.

"We'll get him! Go back!" Dean yelled after them.

"Guys!" Sam called. "Shit."

After realizing they weren't about to listen to reason, we ran up the stairs after them, finding them on the second floor, still searching for their friend as his screams disappeared into the walls.

"Hey, come on." Dean said, grabbing Ed's arm.

"Corbett- he's not here. Let's go." Sam said.

"But that's Corbett. That was Corbett. Didn't you hear that?" Harry asked.

"Guys, you have to go." I said.

"Listen, guys, he's that way." Sam lied, pushing them back towards the stairs. "Here we go. Keep it moving."

"Corbett?" Ed called.

Dean thumped Harry with his flashlight, gesturing for him to move. "Go."

As we headed down the stairs, I glanced behind me, seeing the guy camera still pointed in my face. "Turn it off!"

"Alright." He muttered, putting the camera down at his side as we re-entered the living room.

"Oh, god, what's happened? Oh, god. He's gone. He just disappeared." Ed mumbled.

"Okay, let's just go through all the angles. Let's go through all the cameras we have." Harry suggested.

I glanced down at my watch, looking up at Dean with a sigh. "Well, it's twelve-oh-four."

"You good, Dean?" Sam asked sarcastically. "You happy?"

"Yeah, I am happy." Dean nodded.

" _Let's go hunt the Morton house_ , you said. _It's our Grand Canyon_."

"Sam, I don't want to hear this."

"You got two months left, Dean. Instead, we're gonna die tonight."

"Alright, would the two of you just stop it?" I snapped, not wanting to hear about that.

I thought enough about Dean dying and I knew exactly how much time he had left. I didn't Sam to constantly spew out a fucking countdown. In my annoyance, I picked up a chair, smashing it against the front door, hoping with any luck that the lock would break.

Instead, the only thing that broke was the chair. Of course.

"Whoa! What the hell is going on?" The cameraman asked.

"'ll tell you what's going on. Every door, every window, I'm guessing every exit out of this house, they're all sealed." Sam explained angrily.

"But w-why are they sealed?"

"It's a supernatural lockdown, okay? Whatever took Corbett doesn't want us to leave, and it's no death echo." Dean said. "This is a bad motherfucker, and it wants us scared."

"Or it just wants us."

The sound of an EMF meter started going off in Ed's hand. "Whoa, guys, the EMF's starting to spike."

"The camera's fritzing again." The cameraman mumbled.

"This is a big one!"

"Everybody stay close. There's something coming." Sam said as the apparition of a man appeared a few feet away from us.

"Is this the same echo you guys saw earlier?" Dean asked.

"No, it's a different guy." Harry replied.

"Multiple echoes." I muttered. "What the hell's going on?"

Sam shrugged. "Beats me."

"Okay. Alright." Dean said, taking a step towards the man. "Hey, buddy! Hey, wake up. You're dead!"

"What's he doing?" Harry asked, looking over at me.

"Sometimes you can shock an echo out of it's loop, but usually to have to have some kind of connection to the deceased." I explained.

"Come on! Wake up! Be dead!" Dean continued. "Snap out of it, buddy, huh? Come on, what are you waiting for? You're gonzo! You're dead!"

Suddenly, a bright light shined on the man and the sound of a horn honking approached as the man flew backwards, as if he was hit by a vehicle.

"Where the hell did it go?" Harry asked.

"Too many questions." I mumbled, as Sam and I walked towards Dean and we made our way down the hall with the small group behind us.

"Dude, there's no records of any of this here." Dean said. "No one got shot here. Obviously, no one got run over by a fucking train."

"Stay close." Sam muttered back to the group.

"Did the echoes take Corbett?" The girl asked.

"Yes, no, I don't know." Dean shrugged in annoyance. "We don't know what's doing what here, that's what we're trying to figure out, okay?"

"Okay, look, death echoes are ghosts, okay? Now, ghosts, they usually haunt places where they lived or where they died." Sam explained.

"Except these mooks didn't live or die here."

"Right."

"So, what are they doing here?" She asked, pointing her camera into Dean's face.

"Alright, seriously, does looking at this nightmare through that camera make you feel better or something?"

"I, uh...well, yeah. Uh, yeah. I think so."

"Oh."

Eventually we made our way through the house over to a room full of stuffed animal heads mounted on the walls. I cringed visibly, staring at their beady, lifeless eyes with discomfort.

"Are you scared?" Ed asked, looking over at me with a raised eyebrow. "Of…taxidermy?"

"It's fucking weird, okay?" I said, glancing over to the guy's camera. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

"Freeman Daggett, house's last owner, officially commended for twenty years of fine service at the Gamble General Hospital." Sam read from a folder he got from one of the file cabinets.

"He was a doctor?" Dean asked.

"Janitor."

"This looks like his den. When'd you say he died, sixty-four?"

"Yeah, heart attack."

"What are these, c-rations?" The girl asked, picking up a few packets of dried food.

"Yeah, army-issued, three squares." Dean said. "Like a lifetime supply."

"God, is that all he ate?"

"One-stop shopping." Dean shrugged, moving over to a safe. "Locked."

"Oh, come on, guys. This is ridiculous." Ed said. "I mean, how the hell is this supposed to find Corbett, huh? We should be digging up the friggin' floorboards right now."

" _Survival Under Atomic Attack_." I read the title of a book sitting in one of the drawers. "I'm guessing he was an optimist."

The group jumped, letting out screams as Dean smashed the safe with a crow-bar, beginning prying it open. The boys and I glanced up at them, staring with raised eyebrows as they all breathed heavily in fear.

Dean shook his head, turning his attention back to the safe as he leafed through the items inside. "Shit. Shit...taxidermy."

"More?" I asked, looking down at the poor little squirrel that Dean pulled out in disgust. "Oh, man."

"Look at those cute little feet." Ed murmured, staring down at the dead squirrel with a grin. I glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow as he looked to the ground awkwardly.

"You said Daggett was a hospital janitor?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded."Yeah."

"Ugh. Got three toe tags here." Dean said, pulling them out as Sam stared down at them with a grimace. "Death by gunshots, train accident, and suicide."

"Oh, Jesus." I muttered. "That explains it."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Why the death echoes are here….it's because their bodies are here."

"Daggett brought the remains home from the morgue...to _play_." Dean finished, a disgusted look on his face.

"Ew!" Harry cried.

"That's nasty, dude." The cameraman muttered.

I looked back at the group, noticing we were short one. "Where's the girl?"

"Maggie?"

"Sure, yeah." I nodded, making my way to an adjoining room, seeing her standing in front of a mirror. I walked up behind her, startling her as she swung back around. "Stay closer to everyone, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded.

"Maggie? Maggie?" Harry called, his voice distressed as he ran into the room.

"She's okay." I said, leaving them in there as I went back out.

"Harry, I got an 8.6 and climbing fast. Something huge is coming. Look. Something big is coming." Ed muttered. "It's past 11, you guys."

"What? Nobody move. Hold on. Stay quiet." Dean said. I backed up towards him and Sam, standing on his other side.

"It's really cold in here."

A rush of air flew in between Dean and I, and we both looked to see that Sam was no longer standing there between us.

My eyes widened as I looked around for him. "Sam?"

"Some kind of surge." Ed muttered.

"Sam?" Dean called, finding Sam's flashlight on the ground. "Sam!? Sammy!?"

"Sam!" I yelled, Dean and I walking back out into the hallway, looking for him.

"Corbett? Sam?" Ed shouted behind us, making his way over into the room Harry and Maggie were in.

"Where the hell did he go?" I asked Dean, looking over at him with concerned eyes.

"I don't know."

"Hold my glasses!" I heard Ed shout from back inside the room before a crash of commotion sounded through the wall.

"Get off Harry!" Maggie screamed as Dean and I rushed back inside, finding Ed and Harry fighting like two five year olds.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Dean shouted, grabbing Harry as I got Ed.

"Cut it out!" I scolded. "What is going on here?"

"He's banging my sister!" Ed yelled.

"I am not!" Harry countered.

"Oh, who the fuck cares?!" I exclaimed, pushing Ed forward and out of my grasp. "We have two people missing here. Now pull your heads out of your asses and get it together!"

The two men stared over at me with guilty eyes, both of them looking thoroughly reprimanded.

"Sorry." Harry mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Ed muttered at the same time, shooting a glare over at Harry.

"Hey, no. Stop." I said, shaking my head at them.

"Give me my glasses." Ed said, pushing his glasses back on his face, looking up at the cameraman. "Did he knock my- my tooth there?"

"No." He replied.

"I- I won that, right?"

"No!" I exclaimed, pushing them towards the doorway where Dean was standing, already exasperated. "Move!"

"Thanks, Spruce." Harry sighed.

"Yeah, it's my fault." Spruce, the cameraman, mumbled.

"That's real great. That's nice. Thanks." Maggie scoffed as I walked past her, stepping over to Dean's side as we headed back down the hallway.

"So Daggett was a cold war nut, right?" Dean asked, glancing over at me.

"Right." I nodded.

"He was an amateur taxidermist. He liked to slow dance with cadavers, and all he ate were c-rations, so what the hell are we looking for?"

"Horrible little life." Maggie mumbled.

"Yeah, a lonely life. A cold war life."

"He was scared." I said, Dean and I sharing a look of realization. "So scared that-"

"He'd have a place to hide." Dean finished.

"What? What are you talking about?" Harry asked, following after Dean and I as we stepped up our pace, rushing back down the staircase. "Where are you going?"

"Guys like Daggett back then, the ones who were really scared of the Russkies, they built bomb shelters. I'm guessing he's got one." Dean said. "And I'll bet you it's in the basement."

As Dean and Spruce walked down the first few steps to the basement, the door slammed, cutting me, Harry, Ed and Maggie off from them. I pounded on the door, trying to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Dean!" I called, staring to panic a little. At least before, I knew that if we _were_ in fact going to die tonight, we'd be together.

"That is not funny!" Ed called.

"Who closed the door?" Spruce asked.

"It did. It wants to separate us." Dean muttered, his voice muffled through the door. "Tori, you have the duffel bag?"

"Yeah." I replied.

"Alright. Be careful."

"You too." I muttered, tears forming in my eyes as I heard Dean's footsteps retreat.

"Are you okay?" Maggie asked, zooming the camera in on my face as I fought back tears.

I slapped it out of my way, glaring at her. "Stick that thing in my face one more time-"

"Sorry."

"What do we do?" Harry asked.

"We have to take the salt from this duffel bag, make a circle and get inside." I explained, digging through the bag as Ed stood over me, peering in the bag.

"Inside?"

"That's stupid." Harry scoffed.

"How are we supposed to fit _inside_ this bag?" Ed asked. I stared up at him for a moment with a blank expression, not quite sure I'd just heard him correctly.

"In the salt, you morons! We need to make a circle of the salt and stand inside of it!" I exclaimed, pulling out the can of salt, pouring a large circle. "Get in. Go."

"Okay." Maggie nodded, stepping inside the circle with Ed and Harry.

"Listen very carefully." I said, making sure I spoke every word slowly. "If you break the circle, we're gonna die. So, if anything happens, we fix the circle as fast as possible. Like our life depends on it. 'Cause it does. So that means, if a wind blows and breaks the circle, we're gonna die unless we keep it in tact. If one of you fucking sneezes and that breaks the circle-"

"We're gonna die?" Ed asked, swallowing hard.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Unless-"

"We keep the circle in tact."

"Right."

"Guys. I don't want to die." Harry mumbled, looking to Ed. "And I don't want you to die."

"Harry, listen to me, okay? If we don't die….it's totally okay if you, uh, do my sister." Ed said. Maggie pushed him, nearly knocking him out of the circle.

"What did I say?!" I shouted, trying to steady him on his feet.

"Sorry." Maggie mumbled. "Can I ask a question?'

"No."

"Before when you, Sam and Dean were talking-"

"I said, no."

"Sam mentioned something about Dean only having two months-"

"Did you not hear me say no?" I snapped, turning face her, tears forming in my eyes.

"I was just wondering. Is it- is it cancer?" She asked, looking down at me with sad eyes. "My uncle had cancer-"

"It's not cancer! It's- you know, what? I don't need to tell you this. It's none of your goddamn business."

"I was just wondering."

"If you keep talking, I will push you out of this circle."

"Oh, no."

"What did I say?" I asked, looking back at her.

"No, it's the- it's the camera. It's going crazy again."

"Shit. Something's coming. Get in close." I said. Ed stepped next to me, clutching my arm tightly as he did so. "Not that close, Ed."

"Right. Sorry." He mumbled, taking a small step back as the lights started flickering around us. "Oh god, oh god." Suddenly, Corbett appeared in front of us, bloody and not able to speak. "Oh, C- Corbett."

* * *

 **BASEMENT – NIGHT  
** DPOV 

I wasn't at all comfortable with leaving Tori up there. Not for the fact that she couldn't take care of herself...but more for the fact that it was difficult to not be around her. Not that we were apart very often anyway, but it was even harder now.

Spruce and I made our way down the steps towards the dark basement with shining my light around the dusty room to light our way.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Spruce asked from behind the camera.

"What?"

"Earlier Sam said you had two months left?"

"Yeah, it's complicated. A while ago, Sam..." I paused, shaking my head. "No. I'm not gonna whine about my fucking problems to some fucking reality show. I'm gonna do my fucking job."

"But-"

"Shut up." I snapped, hearing something in the distance. "You hear that?"

"Is that music?"

"Yeah, it's coming from behind this wall." I said, pushing the cabinet away from the wall, revealing a boarded door.

"Wow, you're strong." Spruce mumbled in astonishment. I glared over at him, flipping off the camera.

"You'll stay a good, long time." A man's voice spoke from inside the room. I broke down the bomb-shelter door, seeing Daggett standing in the corner of the room. I pulled up my gun, shooting him before rushing over to Sam, who was tied to a chair with a party hat on top of his head.

"Oh god." Spruce mumbled, taking in the scene in front of him, stopping when he reached Corbett's lifeless body. "Oh, no, Corbett."

"Come on, Sam." I said, helping him to his feet as we exited the shelter.

"What's this Daggett guy's problem anyway?"

"Loneliness." Sam muttered.

"What, he's never heard of a _Realdoll_?" I asked.

"No. Daggett was the _Norman Bates_ , stuff-your-mother kind of lonely." Sam said. "I mean, that's why he lifted these bodies from the morgue. He threw himself a birthday party, except they were the only ones who would come. Anyway, so, at midnight, he sealed them in the bomb shelter and went upstairs and OD'd on horse tranqs."

"How do you know this?"

"'Cause he told me."

"Okay, so now that he's dead, what? Same song, different verse, trying to get people to come to his party?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Stay forever."

"Are those real bullets?" Spruce asked randomly, pointing towards the gun.

"It's rock salt." I replied, the three of us heading back over to the stairs.

* * *

 **LIVING ROOM – NIGHT  
** TPOV

After a while, Corbett had flickered out and disappearing, leaving Harry, Maggie and Ed sitting on the floor in sadness, mourning their friend as I stayed standing, worrying about Dean and Sam.

"Oh god, what have we done?" Ed asked.

"Corbett's a death echo." I sighed. "He's reliving his murder."

"Over and over forever." Maggie added.

" _Ghostfacers...we go to places the others will not. Ghostfacers...stay in the kitchen when the kitchen gets hot._ " Harry sang to himself as he rocked back and forth.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, looking down at him.

"The _Ghostfacers_ theme."

" _Ghostfacers_?"

"That's who we are." Ed explained.

"Wow...that is _so_ sad." I mumbled, shaking my head as the lights started cutting out again and Corbett reappeared in front of us.

"Guys, he's- he's trapped. He's in a lot of pain, you know? We got to try- we got to try and pull him out of his loop. We have to." Ed said, standing up next to me. "Corbett, it's- oh god."

"Don't cross the line. You have no idea what you're doing." I said, holding him back.

"I gotta do it. I have to try." Ed said, stepping one foot out of the circle. "Corbett, listen to me. Okay, I'm not gonna hurt you." Corbett's ghost stared flickering and Ed quickly retreated, scared. "He's not hearing me. He won't stop dying."

"Tori?" Dean's voice came through the door.

I felt relief wash through me as I turned back towards the door. "We're still here."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Are you? Did you find Sam?"

"Yeah."

"Hey." Sam called, letting me know he was alright. "Seriously? You're still shooting?"

"What?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"I'm talking to-"

"Spruce." He chimed in.

" _Spruce_?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Oh, my- oh!" Spruce yelled suddenly.

"What happened?" Maggie asked, her voice full of concern.

"Oh, Jesus fucking- nothing!" Dean called, the sound of a gunshot ringing through the door. I let out a sigh, shaking my head.

"I know how we can get through to Corbett." Harry said suddenly.

"How?" I asked.

"Ed."

"What?"

"He had feelings for you." Harry said, looking towards his friend.

"Huh?" Ed asked, furrowing his brow.

"He _wanted_ you."

"What? Wanted me to what?"

"You know." Harry shrugged, letting out a grunt and pelvic thrust. I stared over at him in shock, looking up at Ed with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't- I'm not- I'm not gay." Ed muttered to me.

"No. No. Yeah." I nodded, folding my arms. "No."

"I'm not!"

"I didn't say you were!"

"Listen, you know what you've got to do." Harry continued. "You can do it, Ed. You've always been the brave one. You make us brave. Right, Maggie?"

"Yeah. Yeah you do. You totally do." Maggie muttered.

"Right?" Harry asked, looking over at me pointedly as Ed stared into my eyes.

"Uh, sure, yeah." I nodded, shooting him a small smile.

"Ed...you've got to go be gay for that poor, dead intern." Harry said. "You got to send him into the light."

Ed nodded, approaching Corbett's ghost again. "Corbett? Corbett, look. It's just Ed, buddy. It's just me. Listen to me. I-we- okay. You meant- Corbett, you meant a lot to the team. You meant- you meant a lot to me. You know, never back down...never say a bad word, okay? I remember that, Corbett. I- I remember that. I remember because I love you, Corbett. I really, truly love you. Do you remember that? Do you?"

"Ed?" Corbett asked, blinking a few times as he stared down at him.

"Yeah, Corbett, it's me. It's me. Look at me. You got to help us, man. You have to help us, Corbett. Please. Please help us right now."

* * *

 **BASEMENT – NIGHT  
** DPOV

"Take it easy." Sam said, helping Spruce up off the ground. "You alright?"

"Guys..." Spruce mumbled, looking behind me with wide eyes. I followed his gaze, seeing Daggett's spirit standing there. In the blink of an eye, he thew Sam and I against the far wall, stalking over to Spruce.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" I shouted, trying to fight against his invisible grip.

"This is bad. Very bad." Spruce muttered, backing away.

Just then, Corbett's ghost appeared behind Daggett, attacking him, causing them both to disappear in a flash of bright light, dropping Sam and I back to the ground. We picked ourselves up, wiping the dust off.

"God." Sam sighed.

"You guys okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded, making my way back up the stairs.

I just wanted to see Tori.

The door opened easily now, allowing us to walk through into the living room. As soon as Tori saw me, she rushed over, pulling me in for a hug before placing a deep kiss on my lips. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Spruce leaning in with his camera, covering the lens with my hand.

* * *

" _Leap year, February twenty-ninth, the Morton House. A tragic day. A day of souls bound in torment, of lives held in cruel balance. But the Ghostfacers, they did the best that they could._ " Ed said.

" _We lost a beloved friend, but we gained new allies._ " Harry added.

" _We know this much. Every day, including today, is a new beginning. We learned more than we can say in the brutal feat of the Morton House._ "

" _The Ghostfacers were forced to face something far more scary than ghosts. They were forced to face themselves._ "

" _War changes Man._ "

" _And Maggie._ "

" _War changes man. And one woman._ " Ed corrected. " _You know Corbett, we just...ah gosh, we just like to think that you're out there, watching over us_."

" _As far as we're concerned, you're not an intern anymore. You have more than earned full Ghostfacer status. Plus, it would be cool to have a ghost on the team._ " Harry smiled.

" _Yeah._ " Ed chuckled. " _And here we were thinking that, you know, we were teaching you and all this time you were teaching us, about heart, about dedication, and about how gay love can pierce through the veil of death and save the day. Thank you, Alan J. Corbett._ "

" _Go well into that starry night, young Turk. Go well._ "

The scene transitioned to the back of a van, Spruce filming Corbett as he loaded stuff inside. " _Come on, Spruce, I gotta get all this stuff packed up!_ "

" _So, pack and talk!_ "

" _I don't know what to say._ "

" _Say what comes to mind. This is one of our confessional moments, Corbett, so confess. What do you think is going to happen tonight? What do you think is going to happen on this trip?_ "

" _I think tonight all of our dreams are going to come true. Does that sound stupid?_ "

" _Kind of does, yeah._ "

 **In Memory of Alan J. Corbett, 1985-2008  
King of the Impossible**

The screen faded to black as Ed, Harry, Spruce and Maggie looked up at us expectantly, waiting for our opinions on the show.

"So, guys, what do you think? Are you alright?" Ed asked.

"You know, I kind of think it was half-awesome." Dean shrugged, his arm wrapped around my waist.

"Half-awesome?" Maggie asked "That- that's full-on good, right?"

"You know, it's bizarre how you all are able to honor Corbett's memory while grossly exploiting the manner of his death." Sam said. "Well done."

"Yeah. It's a real tight rope you guys are walking there." Dean added, dropping the small magnet into the backpack I'd placed underneath the computer.

"Nah, that's reality, man. Yeah, Corbett gave his life searching for the truth, and it's our job over here to share it with the world." Ed said.

"Well, in our experience, you know what you get when you show the world the truth?" Sam asked.

"A straightjacket." I said.

"Or a punch in the face." Dean interjected.

"Sometimes both."

"Right." Sam nodded.

"Oh come on, guys, don't be ' _facer haters_ just because we happen to have gotten the footage of the century." Harry said.

"You got us there." Dean shrugged. "Well, we'll see you guys around."

"Peace out." Spruce called as we turned to leave, heading outside.

"Dicks." Harry mumbled under his breath.

"Oh, yeah. Except for the girl. She's still hot." Ed muttered as the door closed behind us. I chuckled, shaking my head as we made our way over to the Impala in the parking lot.

"We clean?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded, a small smile on his face. "Electromagnet wiped out every tape and hard drive that they have."

"The world just isn't ready for the _Ghostfacers_." I said.

"It's too bad. I kinda liked the show."

"It had its moments." Sam shrugged.

"Especially that kiss." Dean sighed, looking down at me with a smirk and lustful eyes. "We need to invest in a camera, if you know what I mean."

"See, now that's a show I would watch." I smiled, reaching up to place a passionate kiss on his lips.

Two months was a long time...right?

* * *

 **Gay love can _always_ pierce through the veil of death and save the day. Perfect example, Dean and Cas (yes, I ship Destiel. Sorry...but not really) **

**Obviously I had to choose this song because...well, duh. Also I really want a** ** _Ghostfacers_** **spin off show. Like, right now. Who's with me?**

 **Thanks for reading! We're getting close to the end, guys :S**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction**


	14. Long-Distance Call

_I'll sing it one last time for you  
Then we really have to go  
You've been the only thing that's right  
In our lifetime  
And I can barely look at you  
But every single time I do  
I know we'll make it anywhere  
Away from here _

… _._

 _To think I might not see those eyes  
Makes it so hard not to cry  
And as we say our long goodbye  
I nearly do_

 _..._

 _Slower, slower  
We don't have time for that  
All I want's to find an easier way  
To get out of our little heads  
Have heart, my dear  
We're bound to be afraid  
Even if it's just for a few days  
Making up for all this mess _

_Light up, light up  
As if you have a choice  
Even if you cannot hear my voice  
I'll be right beside you, dear  
_

 _ **Snow Patrol – Run**_

* * *

Even more days had passed by, bringing us closer and closer to the date we dreaded most. I don't think I've slept through a night without having some type of nightmare about Dean dying. It was hard to close my eyes anymore.

The hot sun shined down on Dean and I as we sat on a bench across from that college that Sam was currently in, speaking to a professor about this whole situation. It hadn't gotten us very far in the past, but I was willing to speak to every damn professor in the United States, if that's what it took to find an answer.

"Yup. I got it. Okay, bye." Dean hung up, shoving the last bit of burger in his mouth, glancing over at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded, his voice snapping me out of my trance. "Who was that?"

"Bobby."

"Oh."

"Hey." Dean called to Sam, who walked back over to us. "So?"

"So, the professor doesn't know shit." Sam replied.

"Shocking. Well, pack your panties, Sammy, we're hitting the road. That was Bobby on the phone. Some banker guy blew his head off in Ohio and he thinks there's a spirit involved."

"So you were talking a case?" Sam asked.

"No, we were actually talking about our feelings. And then our favorite boy bands." Dean muttered sarcastically. "Yeah, we were talking a case."

"So a spirit, what?"

"Yeah, the banker was talking about some sort of electrical problems at his pad for like a week. Phone was going haywire, computer was flipping on and off."

"Huh."

"This is not ringing your bell?"

"Well, sure, yeah." Sam shrugged. "But, Dean, we're already on a case."

"Whose?"

"Yours."

"Right. Yeah. Well, you could've fooled me."

"What the hell else have we been doing lately other than trying to break your deal?"

"Chasing our tails, that's what. We've talked to every professor, witch, soothsayer and two bit carny act in the lower forty-eight. Nobody knows squat! And we can't find Bela, we can't find the Colt. So until we actually find something, I'd like to do my job."

"Well, there's one thing we haven't tried yet."

"Sam, no."

"We should summon Ruby."

"She said she knows how to save you."

"Well, she can't." Dean said after a long pause.

"Oh, really? You know what for sure?" Sam asked incredulously.

"I do."

"How?"

"Because she told me, okay!?"

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"She told me. Flat out. She can't save me, nobody can."

"And you just somehow neglected to mention this to us?" Sam asked.

"Well, I really don't care what that bitch thinks and neither should you-"

"So what, now you're keeping secrets from us, Dean?"

"You really wanna talk about who's keeping secrets from who?" Dean asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Can we stop? Please?" I asked, looking between the two as they stared at each other. "Please?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded, heading off towards the Impala.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked.

"Guess I'm going to Ohio."

I glanced up, letting out a sigh. "Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you say anything about what Ruby told you?"

"Because, Tor. I know how bad you want to stop this. I know you do. But we- there's nothing we can do."

"You can't think that way."

"It's the truth." Dean muttered, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "I wish it wasn't...but it is."

* * *

 **OHIO - DAY  
House **

Once we'd arrived at the home of Mrs. Waters, dressed in our suits, she led the three of us into a study room filled with books, pointing over to a chair behind the desk, tears in her eyes.

"I found him there."

"Why don't you tell us everything you saw, Mrs Waters." Dean said.

"You mean beside my dead husband?"

"Just everything else you saw." Sam interjected, shooting her his puppy-dog eyes. "Please."

"Blood." She sighed sadly. "Everywhere. The phone was ripped from the wall, his favorite scotch on the desk. What else could you possibly want to know?"

"Why was the phone ripped from the wall?" I asked.

"I don't know."

Sam nodded, pointing over to the desk. "You mind if I take a look?"

"I already went over this with the other detectives."

"We'll be out of your hair in no time, ma'am." Dean told her.

"What time did your husband die?" Sam asked from behind the desk.

"Sometime after eleven."

"What about strange phone calls?" Dean asked. "Receive any of those lately? Weird interference, static, anything like that?"

"No." She muttered defensively. I raised an eyebrow, looking at her in question. "No!"

"Mrs. Waters, withholding information from the police is a capital offense." Dean lied. Sam cleared his throat, glaring over at his brother. "...in some parts of the world, I'm sure."

"A couple of weeks ago, there was this…" She paused, shaking her head. "I woke up one morning, I heard Ben in his study. I thought he was talking to a woman."

"Well, what made you think that?" I asked.

"Because he kept calling her _Linda_. The thing is, I picked up the other line and nobody was there, Ben was talking to nobody."

"There was nothing?"

"Just static."

"Did you ever speak to Ben about this phone call?" Sam asked.

"No. I should have, but, no."

"Did he ever say who Linda was?"

"What difference does it make, there was nobody on the other end!"

"Okay." Sam nodded, making his way back from behind the desk. "I think we're done here. Thanks for you time."

"Sure." She muttered, folding her arms.

"We'll, uh, show ourselves out. I'm sorry for your loss." Sam said as the three of us left, heading back outside towards the Impala.

Dean glanced between Sam and I. "So either Ben went crazy-"

"Or a dead woman is talking to him." I finished.

"Could be either one."

"Our lives are so fucked up."

"Yeah." Dean nodded as we got into the car, ready for a day's worth of research to begin.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

Back at the motel, we had gone over a few things, tracking numbers and finding names. Dean was currently sitting in front of the laptop at the table, across from me as I sifted through a few folders.

"Linda's a babe. Or, was." Dean mumbled, staring at her picture on the screen.

"Did you find her?" Sam asked from the bed.

"Yeah. Linda Bateman. She and Ben Waters were high school sweethearts."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Drunk driver hit them head on. Ben walked away."

"So, what then?" Sam asked. "Dead flame just calls to chat?"

"You would think, but Linda was cremated. So why's she still floating around?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, glancing over at Sam. "What about the caller ID?"

"Turns out it's a phone number."

"No phone number I've ever seen."

"Yeah, 'cause it's about a century old, back from when phones had cranks."

"So why use that number to reach out and touch someone?" Dean asked.

"Got me there too, but we should put a trace on it."

"Well, how the hell are we going to put a trace on something that's over a hundred years old?"

* * *

 **PHONE COMPANY – DAY**

We followed Clark, the manager of a telephone company down a long flight of stairs into a basement, passing a few cubicles on the way.

"We don't get many folks from HQ down here."

"Yes, well, the main office mentioned that there would be a lunch." Dean said, shrugging at Sam's glare.

"Well, I'm sure we can arrange something. The man you wanna be speaking to is right this-" Clark stopped, seeing Sam swatting away a fly. "I know, sorry. We've got something of a hygiene issue down here if you ask me."

"Wonderful." I mumbled, following Clark into another office room where a man sat at a large desk, multiple screens and keyboards in front of him, littered with packets of junk food and chips and empty cans of soda.

"Stewie? What did I tell you about keeping this place clean." Clark scolded.

Stewie jumped at our presence, trying desperately to quickly close down the porn sites he was on. "Spam mail...spam mail..."

"Stewie Myers. Mr, Campbell, Mr. Raimi and Miss Tapert."

"I don't know how all this got here..."

Clark reached out, slapping Stewie on the back of the head. "They're from headquarters." Stewie spun around in his chair, quickly crossing his legs, clasping his hand together on his lap, looking at us nervously. "Give them whatever they need."

"Yeah." Stewie nodded, trying to cover up the situation in his pants.

I rolled my eyes, shooting a smile at Clark as he left. "Thank you."

"So...can I help you?"

"Is that _BustyAsianBeauties_?" Dean asked with a smirk.

"No."

" _Oh, me so horny!_ " A woman's sudden moan came from the computer.

"Maybe." Stewie mumbled.

"A word to the wise? Platinum membership? Worth every penny." Dean nodded. I glared at him, smacking his stomach with the back of my hand. He let out a hard breath of air, glancing down at me with a grimace. "...ow."

"Right, anyway." Sam muttered quickly, handing Stewie the piece of paper with the number written down on it. "We're here to trace a number?"

"Where did you get this?" Stewie asked.

"Off caller ID."

"Oh no, that's impossible."

"It hasn't been used in a few years, we know." Dean said.

"A few years?" He scoffed. "It's prehistoric. Trust me, nobody is using this number anymore."

"Sure. Could you run it anyway?" Sam asked.

" _Sure_." Stewie muttered mockingly. "Why don't I just rearrange my whole life first?"

"Listen, you've got like six kinds of employee code violations down here." Dean started.

"Not to mention the sickening porn that's clogging up your hard drive." I added, the both of us staring down at him with hard eyes.

"Now when my partner says run the number, I suggest you run the damn number."

"Okay, whatever." Stewie exclaimed quietly, turning back to the computer, pulling up a few pages of numbers. "Holy crap."

"What?" Sam asked.

"I can't tell you where the number comes from, but I can tell you where it's been going."

"What do you mean?"

"Ten different numbers in the past few weeks, all got calls from the same number." Stewie said, printing a list of numbers, handing the page to Sam. He looked at us for a moment, glancing back to his computer. "So, are we done here? Cause I was...sort of...busy?"

"Right." Dean nodded, turning to leave with Sam. I lingered for a moment, shaking my head at Stewie before heading after the boys.

* * *

 **STREET – DAY**

A little while later, Sam, Dean and I split up the list of numbers, heading to the houses to speak with the people. I had to say, what we'd just experienced would probably never leave my brain. That lady went into way too much detail for my comfort.

"Dude, stiffs have been calling people all over town." Dean told Sam over the phone. "We just talked to an eighty-four year old grandmother who's having phone sex with her husband...who died in Korea!"

"Please don't remind me." I sighed.

"It redefined my understanding of the word necrophilia." Dean said, just as a woman passed by, shooting us a dirty look as she went. Dean paused, turning back to check her out. I grabbed his chin, moving his head forward again, raising an eyebrow at him. "Sorry."

"Uh-huh." I mumbled as we continued walking.

"Beats me, but we'd better find out soon." Dean answered Sam. "This place is turning into spook central."

"Sam find anything?" I asked, looking up at Dean as we reached the Impala.

"Some girl said she's been talking to her mother...who's been dead for three years."

"Wow."

"Yeah." Dean nodded, flipping his phone open as it rang again. "Yeah, what? Sam?"

"What's wrong?" I asked, watching Dean's eyes widen.

"Dad?"

* * *

Dean had been pretty shaken up since he'd gotten that call, going as far as asking me to drive the Impala back to the motel. With everything going on, I wasn't quite sure what to believe. I just didn't understand what reason John would have for getting in contact with Dean.

Along with every other victim in this town, he'd have to know that it would just hurt Dean in the long run.

"Dad? You really think it was Dad?" Sam asked incredulously after Dean got finished telling him.

"I don't know, maybe." Dean shrugged.

"Well, what did he sound like?"

"Like Oprah." Dean snapped sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Like Dad, he sounded like Dad, what do you think?"

"What did he say?"

"My name."

"And that's it, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. The call dropped out."

"Why would he even call in the first place, Dean?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, man. Why are ghosts calling anybody in this town? But I mean, other people are hearing from their loved ones, why can't we? It's at least a possibility, right?"

"Yeah, I guess….?"

"Okay, so what if- what if it really is Dad? What happens if he calls back? What do I say?" Dean asked, looking between Sam and I. We shared a look, shrugging.

"Hello." Sam suggested.

"Hello?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrows. "That's what you come back with? _Hello_?"

"Uh..."

Dean grabbed his jacket, angrily stalking towards the door. "Hello?!"

Sam and I watched in concern as he left, slamming the door shut behind him. I wanted to go after him, but I stayed where I was, knowing he probably just needed space right now, something neither one of us had really gotten much of lately.

I sat up, letting out a sigh. "He's losing it."

"Yeah."

"What if we really can't do anything to stop this, Sam? What then?" I asked, looking over at him with tears in my eyes.

"I don't- I don't know." Sam mumbled, looking down to the ground before getting up, going over to his laptop, bringing it back to his bed with him.

Hours passed as we sat there in silence, Sam searching stuff up on the computer about the case. While I flicked through the channels on the TV and flipped through books as I tried to not go crazy. Just then, the door swung open and Dean stepped in, glancing over at us.

"Are you okay?" I asked, watching as pulled his jacket off, throwing it down on one of the chairs. "Dean?"

"I'm fine." He nodded. "Find anything?"

"After three hours I have found no reason why anything supernatural would be going on here." Sam shrugged

"Well, you know, you think a Stanford education and a high school hook up rate of zero point zero would produce better results than that."

"Hilarious."

"Sammy, you're just looking in the wrong places, pal."

"And what are the right places, Dean?"

"Motel pamphlet rack." Dean said, pulling a pamphlet out of his pocket, handing it to me. "Milan, Ohio. Birthplace of Thomas Edison."

"Okay." I nodded, flicking through the pages.

"Keep reading."

I continued reading, letting out a scoff as I looked back up to him, shaking my head. "You're kidding."

Just then, Sam's phone rang and he reached for it, picking up. "Hello?" Dean and I glanced over, watching him react to the call. "What? Okay. Hang on. Just relax, okay? I'll be right there."

"Who was that?" Dean asked as Sam got up, throwing his jacket on.

"Lanie."

"Well, what happened?" I asked.

"Her Mom tried talking to her again. She's really freaked." Sam said, going over to the door. "You and Tori go to the museum."

"Well, what are you gonna do? Go hang with jailbait? Watch out for Chris Hansen." Dean said, raising an eyebrow. Sam rolled his eyes, not answering as he left.

* * *

 **MUSEUM – DAY**

"And, here we have one of the museum's most _unique_ and treasured _possessions_. Thomas Edison's _spirit phone_." The tour guide said, using air quotes at the end of every sentence. "Did you know that Mr Edison, as well as being one of America's most beloved inventors, was also a devout _occultist_?"

"What's with the quote-y fingers?" Dean whispered over to me.

"I don't know." I mumbled back.

"He spent years working on this, his final invention, which he was convinced could be used to _communicate_ with the _dead_. Pretty spooky, huh?" She asked, checking her watch before waving us on like a plane. "And we're walking. We're walking. We're not touching that. And we're walking. And stop."

We lagged behind slightly as I pulled out the EMF meter, holding it over the spirit phone. It was silent. "Nothing."

"What do you think?" Dean asked.

"Honestly? It kinda looks like an old pile of junk to me."

"It's not even plugged in."

"Maybe it didn't work like that."

"Okay. Maybe it's like a radio tower, broadcasting the dead all over town."

"Could be."

"You know, this caller I.D. is a hundred years old, right? Right around the time this thing was built."

"Yeah, but why would it all of a sudden start working now?" I asked

"I don't know. But as long as the mouldy are calling the freshers around here, it's the best reason we've got." Dean said.

"Yeah, maybe."

"So maybe it really is Dad. Maybe he has something to tell us. Something important."

"Maybe."

Just then Dean's phone rang, the display showing _sha33_ as the number. He stared down at it for a moment, flipping the phone open as we exited the museum. "Dad? Is it really you?"

" _It's me_." I heard the faint sound of John's voice reply as I stood next to Dean.

"How can I be sure?"

" _You can't. Dean, how could you do it? Sell your soul. I never wanted this. Never. You're my boy, I love you. I can't watch you to go to hell, Dean._ "

"I'm sorry. I don't know how to stop it." Dean muttered, tears in his eyes.

"' _Cause if you break the deal Sam dies, right? Tori goes to hell? Well I know a way out. For all of you._ "

"How?"

" _The demon who holds your contract. He's here. Now._ "

"What?"

" _Do you have paper?_ "

"S- sure." Dean nodded, sifting through the glove compartment of the Impala for a piece of paper and a pencil. I watched as he wrote down a long paragraph, looking to be in Latin or something of the like. "This is gonna work? Hello?"

Dean glanced down at me with a huff, shutting the phone. "Line went dead again."

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the paper.

"An exorcism. It can kill the demon."

"Do you really think so?"

"We have to check."

* * *

After a good amount of time doing some searching, we found a few clues that would indicate a demon being around here. Though it wasn't really anything out of the ordinary. You could probably find stuff like this in every state right now.

But I didn't have the heart to say anything. I wanted this to be true just as much as Dean did.

Sam came back to the motel then, throwing his jacket down on the bed. "What's up?"

"Dad called again." Dean said.

"What?"

"He told me the demon that holds my contract is here. Now. And I- I think he's right. Check it out."

"What is this, weather reports?" Sam asked, looking down at the paper Dean handed him.

"Omens. Demonic omens. Electrical storms everywhere we've been for the past two weeks."

"I don't remember any lightning storms."

"Well, I don't remember you studying meteorology as a kid either. But I'm telling you, that bastard's been tailing me...wearing some poor dude's meat."

"But Tori would've known if a demon was following us." Sam muttered.

"Well maybe- maybe there's a certain distance that she can sense, you know?" Dean shrugged. "And maybe he knows that, so he's staying just far enough away."

"And it's following you because..."

"I guess, I'm big game. My ass is too sweet to let outta sight."

"I can agree there." I murmured, shooting him a grin.

"Okay. Sure." Sam shrugged.

Dean quickly grabbed the papers back, annoyed. "Don't get too excited, Sammy. Might pull something."

"Dean, look, I wanna believe this, man...I really do..."

"Then believe it! if we get this sucker, it's _Miller Time_."

"Okay. How exactly are we gonna do that?"

"Dad gave me an exorcism. It'll kill the bastard."

"What?" Sam asked, blinking in shock. "Dad just rattled off an exorcism that can kill a demon? I mean, not just send it back to hell, but kill it?"

"We've checked it out. This is heavy duty Dark Ages. Fifteenth century."

"Tori, you're seriously believing this?" Sam asked, looking over to me.

"I- I don't see why not." I shrugged.

"Come on, this is- this is it." Dean said. "This is what we've been waiting for."

"Dean, there's no evidence this exorcism can kill a demon." Sam said.

"No evidence it can't."

"Come on, man-"

"Hey, as far as I'm aware, the only one of us who has actually been to hell is Dad. And maybe he picked up a couple of tricks down there, like which exorcisms work."

"Maybe it does. I hope it does too, but we gotta be sure."

"Why aren't we sure?"

"'Cause I don't know what's going on around here Dean! I mean, some guy blows his brains out, a little girl is scared out of her wits-"

"Wow, a couple of civvies are freaked out by some ghosts. News flash Sam, people are supposed to be freaked out by ghosts!"

"Dad tell you where to find the demon?"

"I'm waiting on the call!" Dean exclaimed. "You're unbelievable, you know that? I mean for months we've been trying to break this demon deal. Now Dad's about to give us the fucking address and you can't accept it? The man is dead and you're still butting heads with the guy!"

"That is not what this is about." Sam said, shaking his head.

"So what is it?!"

"The fact is we've got no hard proof here, Dean." Sam said, glancing over at me. "You can't trust this. You have to tell the truth, Tori!"

"I am." I argued.

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am!"

"No. You are n-"

"Hey!" Dean shouted, stopping us.

"And after everything, you're still just going on blind faith!" Sam exclaimed, looking over at his brother.

"Yeah, well, maybe that's all I got, okay?" Dean said, the two of them staring at each other for a long moment.

"Can we all just- can we just please calm down?" I asked quietly. "We can't be fighting like this, it's not doing us any good."

"She's right." Sam nodded. Dean stayed silent, sitting back down at the table, keeping his eyes on the computer screen.

* * *

By the time the sun had set and it was dark outside, we hadn't gotten another call from John, something I knew was really bothering Dean. After a little while of waiting I'd fallen asleep, waking up to the find spot on the bed next to me empty. I got out of bed, looking over to see that the bathroom door was open. I rushed over to the window, seeing that the Impala was also gone.

"Sam." I called, shaking him until he woke up.

"Wh- what?"

"Wake up. Dean's gone."

What?" Sam asked, sitting upright immediately.

"I don't know where he is. The car is gone."

"Okay. It's okay, he probably just went to a bar or something."

"What if he went after the demon alone?"

"He wouldn't-" Sam started, the doubt clear in his eyes. Just then, his phone started ringing. As he picked it up, I heard the voice of a distressed girl on the other end. "Lanie, slow down. What happened now?"

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"She wanted you to kill yourself?" Sam asked, his eyes going wide after she answered. "What'd you say? No, how'd she say it?" Suddenly, Sam's whole entire expression changed, his skin palling. "Lanie. That's not your mother. Don't answer the phone. Don't use the computer. Don't do anything unless I say to, alright? Just hang on."

"What's wrong?" I asked as Sam hung up.

"It's a crocotta. It's not Dad."

"Oh, no." I muttered, my eyes going wide as I reached for my phone. "Dean?"

" _Yeah?_ "

"Where are you?"

" _Taking care of the demon._ "

"Dean, you have to come back. Now."

" _Why?_ "

"Because there is not demon. It's not John. It's a crocotta."

"Isn't that a sandwich?"

"No it's like some kind of scavenger. They mimic loved ones voices, then lure you into the dark and swallow your soul."

"A crocotta, right, damn that makes sense."

"Dean, you have to come back."

" _Alright, yeah. I'm on my way. Why don't you and Sam try to get a head start on the thing?_ "

"We don't know where it is."

" _Don't they live in filth?_ "

"Yeah."

" _The flies at the phone company._ "

* * *

 **PHONE COMPANY – NIGHT**

Sam and I crept along the alley next to the building, peering in a window to see Stewie sitting at his console, watching more porn. We ducked out of view as he got up, leaving his desk, heading for the exit. As we moved, Sam pulled out a metal spike, keeping it at his side while we walked.

Stewie left the building, unlocking his car when Sam rushed over to him, holding the spike to the back of his neck. "What the hell!?"

"I know what you are." Sam said.

"Wait, mister-"

"And I know how to kill you."

"Please. Okay, wait. If we're overcharging you for the call waiting or something I- I can fix that. I am your friend! Please. Please, just don't kill me!"

From the light of the streetlamp behind me, I saw a shadow appear, turning around to see Clark raising a bat. And before I knew it, everything went dark.

* * *

My eyes drifted open to see that Sam, Stewie and I were tied to chairs in the basement, all lined in a row. I watched as Clark walked in, a large knife in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Clark." Stewie sniveled. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to you. I'm sorry...please-"

"Wait! Don't do it!" Sam called.

"You're awake." Clark smiled, placing the tip of the knife on Stewie's thigh.

"You're not a killer Clark, no! There's a good man inside of you, I know it."

"What do you think, am I a good man?" He asked Sam and I.

"Just let him go." I muttered.

"I would. I really would. If only I'd had more than a salad for lunch. You see, I'm starving." He said, plughing the knife into Stewie's chest.

"No!" Sam shouted. Clark moved in front of Stewie, opening his mouth to reveal razor sharp spiked teeth as he crouched down, holding both of Stewie's shoulders before unhinging his jaw, sucking out his energy.

Clark chuckled, wiping blood off his face as he picked up the stake Sam had before. "To think, you were going to try and kill poor Stewie with this."

"My call with Dean. That was you. You led us here." I said.

"Some calls I make, some calls I take, but you have to admit, I had you fooled for a while. All that Edison phone crap."

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, watching him closely as he went over to a phone.

"I'm killing Dean." He said, my heart sinking. "Or maybe I'm killing another guy. We'll just have to see how it goes."

"Dean's not going to fall for this. He's not going to kill that guy."

"Then the guy kills him."

* * *

 **HOME – NIGHT  
** DPOV

After Dad told me the demon's location, I decided to head over here by myself. Tori didn't need to get tangled up in this and Sam clearly didn't want to.

The home was completely quiet inside, a defining silence falling over the entire place as I waited. After what felt like forever, I saw car headlights shine across the window into the room I was in. I took the top off the bottle of holy water as I moved into the hallway, hearing a noise coming from the back door.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and a man appeared, raising a rifle, firing it. I quickly jumped out of the way, dropping the holy water in the process. I waited until I heard the shell being removed from the gun before charging the guy, hitting him a few times before kneeing him in the stomach.

As he fell to the ground, I went for the rifle but the man got up, pushing me back down onto a table, hitting me a few times before I got the chance to headbutt him, sending him falling backwards. Once he was on the ground and disoriented, I stood up, kicking him in the stomach.

Once I'd gotten the groggy man over to the devil's trap, I grabbed his handgun, taking the clip out, throwing it to the ground.

"What is this?" He asked as I pulled the book out.

"Your funeral." I said, staring to read the exorcism.

"You do this to my daughter, too?" The man asked, glaring at me as he stepped out of the trap.

I stared down with wide eyes, looking back up at him in confusion. "How the hell did you get out?"

"Did you do this to my daughter, too?!"

"Wait, this is a mistake." I muttered, realizing he wasn't a demon.

"You killed her!" He exclaimed, lunging at me as he wailed on me, punching me left and right. "She was nine years old!"

"Stop! I didn't! You gotta believe me!" I exclaimed, trying to block his punches. I was able to twist around, reaching the rifle. Before he saw it coming, I hit him on the forehead with the butt of it, standing up as he fell backwards.

"Why did you kill her?" He asked, crying.

"I'm sorry. I didn't kill your daughter."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I don't know." I mumbled sadly.

* * *

 **PHONE COMPANY – NIGHT  
** TPOV

"Technology makes life so much easier." Clark muttered after hanging up, walking over to us. "I used to hide in the woods for days, weeks, whispering to people, trying to draw them out into the night. But they had community, they all looked out for each other, I'd be lucky to eat one or two souls a year. Now when I'm hungry, I simply make a phone call. You're all so connected. But you've never been so alone."

Clark went over to Sam, unhinging his jaw, raising his knife into the air. Sam quickly slipped his now bloody wrists out of the rope, jumping out of the chair, tackling Clark to the ground, sending the knife flying across the room in the process. I pushed through the pain, sliding my writs out of the rope, finding them raw as I got free.

While Sam was still struggling with Clark, I quickly made my way to the metal spike, rushing back over to Sam as he grabbed Clark by the collar, holding him still while I plunged the stake into the back of his neck, killing him.

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT**

When we'd left the phone company, I tried calling Dean multiple times, but only ever got his voicemail, which worried me to no end.

What if something happened? What if that man actually killed him?

As Sam pulled into the parking lot, I scanned it for the Impala, my heart sinking when I didn't spot it right away. It was only when Sam drove all the way to the end of the lot that I saw the Impala parked in the last space. I felt myself relaxed at the sight of it, not even waiting for the car to come to a stop before I rushed into the room where Dean sat on the end of the bed, a washcloth on his eye.

"Oh, my god, baby." I cried, kneeling next to him on the bed, hugging him to me tightly. "Are you okay?"

Dean nodded, wincing a little as he did so. "Yeah."

"Let me see." I murmured, gently pulling the washcloth away to see a large gash underneath his eye. "Oh, Dean."

"I'm fine." Dean mumbled, glancing up at Sam, who had a purple bruise forming under his eye. "I see they improved your face."

"Right back at you." Sam sniggered, sitting down on his bed.

"So, crocotta, huh?" Dean asked, clearly already having figured it out for himself.

"Yup."

"That would explain the flies."

"Yeah, it would. Hey, um, look I'm sorry it wasn't Dad."

"Nah, I gave you a hell of a time on this one. You were right."

"Forget about it."

"I can't. I wanted to believe so badly that there was a way out of this. I mean, I'm staring down the barrel at this thing. You know, hell. For real, forever, and I just..." Dean paused, tearing up. "I'm scared. I'm really scared."

I felt tears spring to my eyes, looking down as the streamed down my cheeks, not able to make my voice work to say anything at the moment.

"I know." Sam said, his own tears forming.

"I guess I was willing to believe anything. You know, the last act of a desperate man."

"There's nothing wrong with having hope, Dean."

"Hope doesn't get you jack-shit. I can't expect Dad to show up with some miracle at the last minute. I can't expect anybody to, you know? I mean, the only person that can get me out of this thing is me."

Sam glanced up at him earnestly. "And us."

" _And us_?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Deep revelation, having a real moment here, that's what you come back with? _And us_?"

"Do you want a poem?"

"The moment's gone." Dean sighed, flicking the TV on as he took a swig of his beer. I watched him closely, that horrible sinking feeling building up inside of me.

It was starting to become too much, the thought of being without him. I'd had a taste of it already and I hated it. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to him...not yet. Not ever.

* * *

 **If** ** _Run_** **doesn't literally make your heart hurt, I don't know what will.**

 **No joke while I was writing this chapter I had to stand up in my room to grab something and** ** _someone_** **pulled the back of my shirt. I shit you not.**

 ** _What if this is something not natural_...? What if it's…** ** _supernatural_?  
** **;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)** **;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)** **;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)** **;)  
**

 **God, I'm such a freaking nerd.**

 **Thanks for reading and dealing with these (sometimes, but mostly all the time) weird af A/N's**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction**


	15. Time Is On My Side

_Jump into the sun  
Dear boy, what are you running from?  
Everyone has got to be saved  
I have heard a voice, if it came down to make a choice  
I would be the one who's replaced_

 _Run boy, be a man_  
 _With legs too weak to make a stand_  
 _We're all crucified in the end_  
 _Can you hear a voice?_  
 _Decipher it through all this noise_  
 _You'll be left with nothing again_

 _Jump into the sun_  
 _Dear boy, what are you running from?_  
 _The answer you will find in your grave_

 _Time keeps rolling on_  
 _(I need my)_  
 _But time keeps rolling on_  
 _(I need my absolution)_  
 _Time keeps rolling on_  
 _(I need my absolution)  
Time keeps rolling on  
(I need my absolution)_

 _Poison outside of heaven  
The outside of heaven  
But I could be wrong  
Poison the outside of heaven  
The outside of heaven  
But I could be wrong _

_**The Pretty Reckless – Absolution**_

* * *

Time seemed to be the only thing I could concentrate on anymore. What time it was, what day it was, how much longer that meant we had. We'd been spending as much time as we could together. And while it was nice to have time alone with him, at the same exact time, it was a horrible reminder of what we would never have again.

We only had three weeks left, and were no closer to finding a solution. We were running out of... _time._ I couldn't get away from it.

"You ready to talk?" Dean asked the demon strapped to the chair in the middle of the abandoned cabin we were currently in, snapping me out of it.

"I don't know. I don't know anything!"

"Oh, you hear that?" Dean asked, glancing over at Sam and I. "He doesn't know anything."

"Yeah, I heard." Sam grinned.

"I'm telling the truth." The demon mumbled.

"Oh, you are? My god, then I owe you an apology. Allow me to make it up to you." Dean said, shoving holy water into his mouth. "I'm gonna ask you one last time...who holds my contract?!"

The demon went quiet for a moment, looking back up at Dean with a grin. "Your mother. Yeah. She showed it to me right before I bent her over."

"I want a name. Or else."

" _Or else,_ what? You're gonna squirt your holy water in both ends? Please." He scoffed. "Brother, that's like a fleabite compared to what's coming to me if I tell you jack. Do what you want. The only thing I'm scared of is the demon holding your ticket."

Dean glanced back at me, nodding once. I looked over at the demon, beginning the exorcism. " _Exorcizamus te, Omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica..."_

"How does that feel?" Dean asked. "Does that feel good?"

"Go ahead. Send me back to hell. 'Cause when you get there, I'll be waiting for you with a few pals who are dying for a nice little meet and greet with Dean Winchester." The demon spat viciously, making me pause for a moment. I stared over at him, breathing heavily.

"Tori?"

"Yeah?"

"Finish it."

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking up at Dean.

"Send him someplace he can't hurt anyone else."

I nodded, continuing the exorcism until the demon began screaming, the black smoke flying out of his mouth, disappearing down into the floor. The man slumped forward, clearly not making it through the possession. Dean and I got him off the chair, bringing him out in the backyard where we had already dug a grave, fearing the worst.

"Looks like these demons ride 'em hard just for kicks." Dean mumbled as we packed the dirt on top of the man, glancing up at me with worried eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded, having become strangely numb to possession victims dying. It didn't sting as much as it used to.

Once we'd finished we made our way back inside as Sam finished up a call. "You ran the prints twice? Are you sure? Okay. Yeah, just chalk it up to lab error. Thanks. Yeah, I'll tell the lieutenant."

"What was that about?" Dean asked, grabbing a couple beers, handing one over to me.

"Remember that thing in the paper yesterday?"

" _Stripper suffocates dude with thighs_?"

"The other thing."

"The guy that walked into the ER with his liver ripped out?" I asked.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "Anyway, I just found out something pretty damn interesting. The dead body covered in bloody fingerprints – they're not the victim's."

"Okay, great. My man _Dave Caruso_ will be stoked to hear it." Dean muttered.

"Those fingerprints match a guy who died in nineteen-eighty-one."

"So, what are we talking? Walking dead? Walking, killing dead?"

"Maybe."

"Zombies do like the other other white meat." Dean mumbled absentminded. "Speaking of, what do you care about zombies?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Well, you've been on soul-saving detail for months now. And we're three weeks out, and all of a sudden, you're interested in some hot zombie action?"

"Hey, man, you're the one who's been all gung-ho to hunt." Sam shrugged. "I just thought I'd be doing you a favor."

"Hey, no. I didn't say I didn't want to do it, okay? I mean obviously I want to hunt some zombies."

* * *

 **CORONER'S LAB – DAY**

Inside the lab, we stood in front of an irritated looking man. He didn't seem to be wanting to speak to us right now, constantly giving us dirty looks.

"Yeah, the rest of the body was intact. The liver was the only organ missing."

"Now, where the liver was ripped out, did you happen to notice any...ah...teeth marks?" Dean asked.

The coroner glanced up, shooting us a strange look. "Can I see you badges?"

"Of course, sure." Sam nodded, the three of us pulled out badges out again for him to see.

"Fine. So you're cops _and_ morons."

"Excuse me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're very smart." Dean mumbled, looking a little offended.

"The liver was not ripped out. It was removed. Surgically. By someone who knew their way around a scalpel." He said. "Didn't you read my report?"

"Of course we did. Oh, it was riveting. It was a real page-turner, just delightful."

"You done?"

"I think so."

"Please go away."

"Okay."

"Sure." I nodded, the three of us exiting the room, heading back out into the hallway. "Well, he was nice."

"Tell me about it." Dean muttered, glancing over at his brother, who was smiling. "What?"

"That kind of punches a hole in our zombie theory, huh, that scalpel thing?"

"Yeah, zombie with skills. _Dr. Quinn, medicine zombie._ "

"Maybe we're on the wrong track here." I mumbled. "Maybe we should be looking for something else." looking for hacked-up corpses."

"What should we be looking for?" Dean asked.

"Survivors. This is organ left."

* * *

After doing a little digging, we found a patient that recently had his kidney taken, and was currently recovering in the hospital.

"I told the cops all of this yesterday. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"It's just a couple of questions, sir." Sam said.

"Hey, man. I just got my kidney stolen. I'm tired."

I nodded in understanding. "We'll be out of here quickly."

"Don't you want to get the guy?" Dean asked.

"Will it get me back my kidney?" The man inquired, his eyebrow raised.

"Uh..."

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked quickly.

"Feeding my meter. I got jumped from behind, and then I wake up strapped to a table. And then the worst pain you could possibly imagine, only worse. And then I black out again. Thank God. And then I wake up screaming in some no-tell motel in a bathtub full of ice."

"Do you remember anything about the surgery?" Dean asked. "You know, what the guy looked like, any details about the room?

"Let me think about that. Yeah, one thing is coming back to me. You know what I remember? Getting my kidney cut out of my body!"

"Okay." I sighed, shooting him a small smile. "Thanks for you time. I hope you feel better."

"Whatever."

* * *

 **MOTEL ROOM – DAY**

After leaving the hospital, we went to get something to eat, bringing our food back to the motel. Sam was sitting at the table across from Dean and I, staring down at his laptop. I picked at the fries in front of me as Dean ate his burger happily. I glanced over, a sad smile on my face as I watched him.

"What?" Dean asked around a mouthful of food when he noticed me staring.

"Nothing." I shrugged, popping another fry in my mouth.

"So, I got a theory." Sam said. "I talked to Mr. Giggle's doctor. Turns out his incisions were sewn up with silk."

"Silk? People haven't done that since the nineteenth century." I said.

"I know."

"Why'd they stop?" Dean asked.

"It was really problematic. Patients would get massive infections. The death rate was insane."

"Good times."

"Right, so doctors, they had to do whatever they could to keep infections from spreading. One way was maggots."

"Sam." I groaned.

"Dude, we're eating." Dean complained.

"It actually kind of worked because maggots, they eat bad tissue, and they leave good tissue." Sam continued, a small grin on his face as he watched us grimace. "And get this, when they found our guy, his body cavity was stuffed full of maggots."

"Dude, we're eating!" Dean repeated. "Alright, let me get this straight. So, people are getting ganked, right?"

"Yeah."

"A little _antiques roadshow_ surgery, some organ theft. But why is this all sounding familiar?"

"Because you heard it before. When you were a kid...from Dad. Doc Benton, real-life doctor, lived in New Hampshire." Sam explained. "Brilliant and obsessed with alchemy, especially how to live forever. So, in eighteen-sixteen, doc abandons his practice and.."

"Right, yeah, nobody hears from him for like twenty years, and all of sudden, people start showing up dead."

"Dead, or missing an organ or the hand or some other kind of part."

"'Cause whatever he was doing was actually working. He just kept on ticking. Parts would wear out, he'd replace them." Dean nodded. "But I thought Dad hunted him down and took his heart out?"

"Yeah, I guess he must have plugged in a new one."

"So, where's he doing all this?" I asked.

"According to this, Benton's picky about where he sets up his lab. He likes dense forest with access to a river or stream or some kind of freshwater."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Because that's where he likes to dump the bile and intestines and fecal matter." Sam explained just as I lifted a fry to my mouth and Dean picked up his burger. I dropped the food, pushing it away from me. "Lost your appetite yet?"

"Kind of." I mumbled. Not that I really had one to begin with. I mostly ate just to keep Dean happy anymore.

Dean stared down at his burger, thinking it over for a moment before smiling. "Oh baby, I can't stay mad at you."

I smiled over at him as he took a huge bite out of the burger, chewing it as Sam moved his laptop aside, placing a map on the table, circling spots in red. "So these are all the cabins. Most of them have been abandoned for years."

"So what the hell are we waiting for?" Dean asked, picking up his phone as it started ringing. "Bobby."

I leaned into Dean's side to hear what Bobby had to say. " _Hey. Think I finally got a bead on Bela_."

"I'm listening."

" _Rufus Turner._ "

"Who's that? Like a Cleveland steamer?"

"Ew!" I exclaimed, smacking Dean's shoulder lightly, shaking my head. Sam glanced up at Dean, an eyebrow raised as he only heard one side of the conversation.

" _He's a hunter, or he used to be_." Bobby explained.

"And now?" Dean asked.

" _Hermit mostly. Does a little selling on the side. Anyway. I put the word out on Bela months ago. He just called. Said a woman got in touch, wanted to buy some things._ "

"And he thinks it's Bela?"

" _British accent, went by the name Mina Chandler._ "

"She's used that before. Well, it's kinda of a sloppy move, isn't it? Getting in contact with one of your old friends."

" _Friend?_ " Bobby scoffed. " _Haven't laid eyes on him in fifteen years. He's not the Christmas card type. I doubt she knows I know him. Canaan, Vermont._ "

"Thanks, Bobby. We're on our way."

" _One other thing. Take a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue."_

"Okay." Dean nodded, standing as he hung up. "Come on. We're going after Bela."

"What?" Sam asked, looking up at Dean and I. "Whoa, hold on a second."

"Get your stuff. The clock's ticking."

"Look, I think we should stay here and finish the case."

"You insane?"

"Dean, there's no way she still has the Colt. That was months ago! She probably sold it the second she got it."

"Then I'll kill her." I said simply, pulling my jacket on.

"Tori..."

"We're going!" Dean said.

"No!"

"Why the hell not?"

"Dean, this- this here. This is what's gonna save you." Sam said, gesturing to the map in front of him.

"What? Chasing some Frankenstein?"

"Chasing immortality." Sam said, gaining shocked looks from Dean and I. "Look, Benton can't die. We find out how he did it, we can do it to you."

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"You have to die before you go to hell, right? So, if you can never die-"

"Sam did you know about all of this from the beginning?" I asked.

"No." Sam mumbled, clearly lying. "I was hoping."

"Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"I was going to, but you and Dean haven't left each other's side!"

"Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute!" Dean exclaimed. "You two can't be keeping shit like this from me, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I'm trying to find an answer here, Dean."

"No. What you're trying to do is chase _Slicy McHackey_ here. And not to kill him. No. You wanna buy him a freaking beer. You wanna study him."

"I was just trying to help."

"You're not helping!" Dean shouted. "You forget that if I welch on this deal, you die. Tori dies. Guess what? Living forever is welching."

"Then, whatever the magic pill is, we'll take it, too." Sam said, glancing over to me. "Right, Tori?"

Dean's head whipped over to me, looking at me expectantly. I shrugged, nodding. "Yeah."

"You're kidding me." Dean scoffed, shaking his head. "No. It's just like Bobby's been saying. We kill the demon who owns the contract and this whole damn thing wipes clean. That's our best shot."

Sam sighed. "We don't know who holds the contract."

"Well, I'll shoot the hellhounds then before they slash me up."

"Please don't talk about that." I muttered.

"Are you coming or not?" Dean asked, glancing down to Sam.

"I'm staying here." He replied quietly.

"No, you're not. 'Cause I'm not gonna let you wander out in the woods alone to track some organ stealing freak."

" _You're_ _not gonna let me_?"

"No, I'm not gonna let you."

"How are you gonna stop me?" Sam asked, standing to his feet, getting in Dean's face.

I pushed my way in between the two, holding them apart. "Stop it! This is ridiculous."

"We're trying to do the same thing here."

"I know. But I'm going. So if you wanna stay...stay." Dean shrugged, throwing his bag over his shoulder, making his way towards the door. I gave Sam one more look before following Dean. "Sammy? Be careful."

"You too." Sam muttered, each of the watching one another for a moment before Dean and I left, shutting the door behind us.

* * *

 **CANAAN, VERMONT – DAY  
Rufus Turner's house **

We approached an old looking cabin-style house, the front yard practically overrun by trees and shrubbery, climbing the long set of steps to the front porch. Dean rang the door bell, banging on the door. I heard a buzzing sound above us, looking up to see a security camera training on us.

" _What?_ " A harsh voice called through the intercom.

"Hi, uh, Rufus?" Dean asked.

" _Yeah, even if I am, the question is still the same. What?_ "

"Uh, I'm Dean Winchester."

"I'm Tori Anderson." I interjected. "We're friends of Bobby Singer's."

" _So?_ "

"You called him this morning."

"Uh..." Dean mumbled, sharing a look with me before turning back to the security camera. "You told Bobby about a British chick who made contact with you."

" _And?_ "

"Well, do you know where she is?" I asked.

" _Yeah._ "

"Great." Dean nodded. "Could you tell us where we could find her?"

" _No._ "

"I am so not in the mood for this." I huffed.

"Look, Rufus, man..."

Suddenly, the door in front of us swung open, revealing a man about Bobby's age standing there. "Look, let me point something out to you. You are knocking at my door, so don't _look, man_ me. I'm not your _man_."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Alright, let me tell you a little story. See, once upon a time, Bobby called me, asked me to call him if I got a whiff of this Bela Talbot. I got a whiff. I called. The end."

"Okay, yeah, if you could just tell us where she is, I mean, that would be great."

"Dean and Tori, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Dean, Tori. Do I look like I'm here to help you?"

"I'm gonna say no."

"Then get the fuck off my property."

"Fine. Then I guess you won't be needing this." I said, pulling up the bottle of whiskey. Rufus eyed the bottle, glancing up at me before nodding, moving over as we could walk inside.

I didn't say another word, shoving the bottle of whiskey into his hands as he shut the door behind me, bringing the bottle over to a table, setting it down before getting three glasses, gesturing for us to sit. Dean and I pulled out our chairs, sitting next to each other as Rufus poured the whiskey.

* * *

Not too long after that, the bottle was mostly empty, Rufus having drank nearly all of it. "You know, I don't even bother drinking unless it's this stuff. Nectar of the Gods, I'm telling you."

"Yeah, it's a nice change, you know. Most of my whiskey comes from a plastic jug." Dean laughed.

"So, Bela was here. Why?" I asked, having waited long enough to start asking questions.

"She wanted to buy a couple of things, which is gonna take me some time to round up."

"Where is she now?"

"Can I ask you something?" Rufus asked, watching us closely.

Dean nodded. "Sure."

"You got three weeks left. Why are you wasting your time chasing after that skinny, stuck-up English girl?"

"How do you know about that?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"Because I know things. I know a lot of things about a lot of people."

"Is that so?"

"I know ain't no peashooter gonna save you."

"What makes you so sure?"

"'Cause that's the job, kid. Even if you manage to scrape out of this one, there's just gonna be something else down the road. Folks like us...there ain't no happy ending. We all got it coming."

"Well, aren't you a bucket of sunshine?"

"You ain't got much to look forward to if you survive." Rufus muttered. "But you won't."

"Bela." I snapped. "Where is she?"

"Hotel Canaan. Room thirty-nine. But watch your back."

"I can handle Bela."

"Oh, don't be so sure about that. There are things that you don't know about her."

"Oh, and you do?" Dean asked. "Right. Because you know things."

"Yup."

"And let me guess...you lift her fingerprint?"

"Yup."

"And that got you jack."

"Yup." Rufus nodded. "She burnt them off. Probably years ago."

"Yeah, so you're right where we are."

"Nope. You do her ear?" He asked.

Dean and I exchanged a look of confusion, glancing over over to Rufus with raised eyebrows. "What?"

" _You do her ear?_ "

"Hey, man, I'll try anything once, but I don't know." Dean shrugged. "That sounds uncomfortable."

"Ears are as unique to humans as fingerprints."

"No kidding."

"Of course, that don't fly in the courts over here, but in England, they're all over it. A friend of a friend, of a friend faxed me ten pages of confidential files within a day. All I had to send him was one clean shot off the security camera."

"Of her ear." I murmured.

"Yup." Rufus nodded, passing me a folder. "The so-called _Bela Talbot_."

I read over the files, glancing up at Rufus with a raised eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

* * *

Once Dean and I had left Rufus's house, we made our way over to the Hotel Canaan, breaking into Bela's room, waiting for her to come back. We knew she would, seeing a bunch of her wigs placed everywhere.

Just then, the sound of a key jingling in the doorknob sounded through the room. Dean and I quickly hid, waiting behind the door. As soon as Bela walked in, I slammed the door shut as Dean grabbed her, pushing her back against the wall, holding her there with his gun pointed at her face.

"Where's the Colt?"

"Dean." Bela muttered nervously.

"No extra words."

"It's long gone, across the world by now."

"You're lying." Dean said. I grabbed the bag Bela was carrying, sifting through it.

"I'll call the buyer. Either of you speak Farsi?" She asked. Dean back away from her, only to turn her around, pressing her against the wall. "What the hell are you-"

"Don't flatter yourself." Dean mumbled, quickly patting her down, grabbing her gun, handing it to me before going to search the room.

"Don't move." I said, training the gun on her as I went over to Dean, helping him look through the room for the Colt.

"I told you I don't have it." Bela said.

"Oh, yeah. We're definitely gonna take your word for it." Dean scoffed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bela start moving along the wall, quickly firing a round off near her head, making her freeze. "Don't move."

"The Colt is gone. Get on a plane if you must. Track down the buyer. You might catch up to him eventually."

"Dammit. Nothing." Dean huffed, glancing up at me. "You?"

"No." I sighed, watching Dean as he walked over to Bela.

"I told you." Bela murmured, glancing down at Dean's gun nervously. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Oh, yeah." Dean nodded.

"You're not the cold-blooded type." She said, looking between the two of us.

"You mean like you? That's true. See, I couldn't imagine killing my parents."

A shocked look crossed Bela's face for a moment before she wiped it away, shaking her head. "I don't know what you're talking-"

"Yes, you do." I said. "You were fourteen. Your parents died in a shady car accident."

"Police suspected a slashed brake line, but it was all too crispy to tell. Cut to little Bela, I'm sorry, _Abby_ , inheriting millions." Dean finished.

"How did you even-"

"Doesn't matter."

"They were lovely people." Bela mumbled sarcastically, a glimmer of tears in her eyes. "And I killed them. And I got rich. I can't be bothered to give a damn. Just like I don't care what happens to you."

Dean pushed her roughly against the door, his arm across her throat again. "You make me sick."

"Likewise." Bela muttered, shutting her eyes as Dean pressed the gun to her forehead. He waited a few moments, staring down at her before shaking his head, taking a step back.

"You're not worth it.

On my way over, I glanced up above her, seeing the tips of a few herbs hanging of the top of the door jam. I placed a hand on Dean's arm, subtly nodding for him to look up. When he saw what I was looking at, he glanced over at me, a knowing look in his eyes as Bela opened her own, staring up at us. I pushed her out of the way, the both of us leaving the room.

* * *

 **IMPALA – NIGHT**

We drove back to Erie in silence, neither one of us really having much to say at this point. The Colt was gone. What were we supposed to do, now?

"I'm screwed." Dean muttered quietly.

"What?" I asked, looking over at him.

"I'm really screwed, Tor."

"Please don't say that."

"The Colt was our last chance."

"I'm not gonna let you die." I said, tears in my eyes. "I'm not. I don't care what we have to do."

Just then, Dean's phone started ringing and he picked it up. "Yeah?"

" _Did you get the Colt?_ " Sam asked.

"No."

" _So, does that mean Bela is, uh.._."

"No. She deserves to die a dozen times over, but I couldn't do it." Dean mumbled. "What are you doing?"

" _I found Benton's cabin._ "

"You okay? Was he there?"

" _Yeah._ "

"Did you kill him?"

" _No._ "

"What do you mean, _no_?"

" _Dean, please just listen for a second. I found his lab book, and it has the formula._ "

"What, the _live-forever_ formula?"

" _Yeah._ "

"Great, let me guess? I got to drink blood out of a baby's skull?"

" _No, that's the thing. It's not black magic. There's no blood sacrifice or anything. It's just science, Dean. Very, very extremely weird science, but..._ "

"What are you saying?" I asked.

" _I think it might be doable. I mean, I know we've hit a lot of walls, but I- I think this formula, I think it might be it. This could save you. We're not in the clear yet. There are still things that I don't get-_ " Suddenly, Sam let out a muffled yell and we heard the phone drop, hitting the ground.

"Sam? Sammy?!" Dean called. When there was no response, Dean threw his phone down on the seat, slamming the gas pedal down to the floor.

* * *

 **ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA – NIGHT**

When Dean and I finally got back to Erie, we manged to find doctor Benton's cabin, rushing inside. We made our way through the creaky house as quietly as possible, finding a few things to use against Benton.

As we headed back down to the main room, we found Benton standing over Sam, who was strapped to an operating table.

"Well, I guess it's about time that we get this thing started." Benton muttered. I quickly shot off a few rounds into him, calling his attention. "Shoot all you want."

Doctor Benton stalked forward towards me as I shot him a couple more times. As soon as he got in front me, he pushed me back into a wall across the room. Though that was enough distraction for Dean to rush in the room, catching Benton off guard, stabbing him in the chest.

"A knife?" He laughed, pulling it out. "What part of immortality do you not understand? Pity about the heart, though. It was a brand-new one."

"Good. It should be pumping nice and strong. Sending this stuff throughout your whole body." Dean said, holding up a bottle of chloroform. "See, I picked up your little bottle upstairs and dipped the knife in it."

Benton stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before collapsing to the ground at his feet with a thud. I went over to Sam, unstrapping him from the table, helping him back to his feet. The three of us lifted doctor Benton up, strapping him down on the same table, making sure he wasn't going anywhere.

Not too long after that, Benton started waking up, his eyes fluttering open slowly.

"Oh, hiya, doc." Dean smiled. "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bac-y"

"Please." He muttered.

"Please, what? You've been killing poor bastards for over a hundred and fifty years and now you got a request? Shut up."

"No, you don't understand. I can help you. I know what you need."

"We might have to cut him up into little bits." Dean said, glancing over at me. "You know, this immortality thing is a bitch."

"I can read the formula for you. Immortality. Forever young, never die."

"Guys." Sam called, nodding back to the other room. Dean and I exchanged a glance, following him.

"What?"

"I mean, we're talking hell in three weeks or needing a new pancreas in like half a century."

"Yeah, well, you can't exactly get those at a _Kwik-E-Mart._ " Dean muttered.

"It's not perfect, but it buys us more time to think of something better. We just need time, Dean. I mean, please, just- just think about it."

"No."

"Don't you want to live? Don't you want the chance to have a life with Tori?"

"Sam-"

"Tori, tell him." Sam said, looking over at me with sad eyes. "Tell him this is what we need to do."

"Do we- I mean, do we have another option?" I asked, looking up to see him staring down at me with a shake of his head. "Please, don't look at me like that."

"You're telling me you'd be okay with offing someone for a new heart every ten years?" Dean asked. "I sure as hell wouldn't."

"No, but-"

"That's not what we do. We protect people. We help people. We don't murder them. You'd do anything to save me, I know. But you wouldn't kill somebody, would you?" Dean asked. I stared over at him for a moment, honestly thinking it over. Dean narrowed his eyes at me in slight disappointment. "Right, Tori?"

"N-" I started, shaking my head. "I don't-"

"That's not who you are. Look, this is simple, okay? Black or white. Human, not human. See, what the Doc is is a fucking monster. I can't do it." Dean said, looking over at me, sending a chill down my spine at the seriousness in his eyes. "I would rather go to hell."

"You don't understand. I can help you!" Benton exclaimed. Dean covered a rag with chloroform, placing it over his mouth.

"I'm gonna take care of him. You can either help me or not. It's up to you." Dean said. I glanced up at Sam as he stared down at me with pleading eyes. I shook my head at him, making my way over to Dean.

While Benton was still out, we dug a deep hole outside, dragging him and the refrigerator over to it, placing him inside, making sure it was sealed shut before piling dirt on top. I could tell Sam was doing all of this very reluctantly, not that I could blame him.

What Dean said was right. We weren't murderers. But if this was something that could have saved him...I'm just not sure where I stood anymore.

All I know is, I couldn't stand him looking at me with that amount of disappointment any longer.

"No! Don't! Stop it! I can help you!" Doctor Benton called, waking up inside refrigerator as the three of the shoveled the last bit of dirt on top of it.

"Enjoy forever in there, doc." Dean mumbled.

* * *

 **IMPALA – NIGHT**

Sam had stayed quiet for pretty much the rest of the night. Not making a peep as he quietly helped Dean and I set up the motel room before we left. Now we were driving along the highway, waiting to make the call.

It was eleven-fifty-six when Dean picked up his phone, dialing the motel room number, putting it on speaker.

"Hi, Bela."

" _Where are you?_ " She asked, clearly distressed.

"Here's a fun fact you may not know. I felt your hand in my pocket, when you swiped that motel receipt."

" _You don't understand._ "

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I understand perfectly." Dean said. "See, Tori noticed something interesting in your hotel room. Something tucked above the door. An herb. Devil's shoestring. There's only one use for that. Holding hellhounds at bay."

" _Dean-_ "

"So you know what we did? We went back and took another look at your folks' obit. Turns out they died ten years ago today. You didn't kill them. A demon did your dirty work. You made a deal, didn't you, Bela. And it's come due." Dean said. "Is that why you stole the Colt, huh? Try to wiggle out of your deal, our gun for your soul?"

" _Yes._ "

"But stealing the Colt wasn't quite enough, I'm guessing."

" _They changed the deal. They wanted me to kill Sam._ " She said. Sam perked up at the mention of his name, looking over at the phone in Dean's hand with wide eyes.

"Really! Wow, demons, untrustworthy. Shocker." Dean muttered sarcastically. "That's kind of a tight deadline, too. What time is it?"

"Almost midnight." I replied.

"Well, look at that."

" _Listen, I need help._ " Bela cried.

"Sweetheart, we are weeks past help."

" _I know I don't deserve it._ "

"You know what? You're right, you don't. But you know what the bitch of the bunch is? If you would have just come to us sooner and asked for help we probably could have taken the Colt and saved you."

" _I know, and saved yourself. I know about your deal, Dean._ "

"Who told you that?" I asked.

" _The demon that holds it. She holds mine too. She said she holds every deal_."

"She?"

" _Her name's Lilith._ "

"Lilith." I muttered, sharing a look with Sam, remembering Ruby mentioning her.

"Why should I believe you?" Dean asked.

" _You shouldn't but it's the truth._ "

"This can't help you, Bela. Not now. Why you telling us this?"

" _Because just maybe you can kill the bitch._ " Bela said, the sound of low growling echoing on her end.

"...I'll see you in hell."

* * *

 **:(**

 **If you don't know what a** ** _Cleveland Steamer_** **is, consider yourself very lucky and DO NOT look it up, whatever you do. Trust me...lol**

 **Just two more chapters until the Bring The Rain is finished!**

 **Thanks for reading!  
**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction**


	16. How Long Will I Love You

_How long will I love you?  
As long as stars are above you  
And longer if I can  
How long will I need you?  
As long as the seasons need to follow their plan  
How long will I be with you?  
As long as the sea is bound to wash up on the sand _

_How long will I want you?  
As long as you want me to  
And longer by far  
How long will I hold you?  
As long as your father told you  
As long as you can_

 _How long will I give to you?  
As long as I live through you  
However long you say  
How long will I love you?  
As song as stars are above you  
And longer if I may _

_**Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You**_

* * *

Every single time I shut my eyes, I saw images of Dean dying flashing behind my eyelids. I didn't want to tell him that, knowing he didn't need any extra stress than what he was already under. If anything, I just wanted to make this time as peaceful for him as I could.

But it was getting harder than ever to pretend that I was okay...when I just wasn't.

I felt Dean walk up behind me, pulling my hair over my shoulder, placing a kiss on my neck. I tried to stomp down my tears as I turned around to face him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he placed his hands on my hips.

Dean shot me a small smile, bending down to place a loving kiss on my lips, holding me tightly to him, playing with the edge of my t-shirt. He pulled back slightly, lifting the shirt over my head, tossing it over on the floor as I pulled his shirt off. Not wanting his lips off mine for more than a second, I pulled him back down to kiss me as I felt him start unbuttoning my jeans, running his hands underneath them, pushing them down slightly.

Without warning, Dean picked me up, still kissing me passionately as he walked us over to the bed, gently lying me down to pull my jeans off the rest of the way. He made his way up from my stomach to my neck, kissing as he went before slipping his hand between my legs. I kissed him deeply, licking his bottom lip as I felt the release bubbling up inside me. I closed my eyes, almost there...when he stopped.

"Dean." I whined, cracking one eye open. A small smirk was plastered on his face as he slowly kissed down my body again, moving between my legs, nudging me to open them a bit more. I did so as he leaned down on his elbows, wrapping his arms around my legs.

Once Dean had gotten me to the point where I was panting, that blissful feeling filling me, he made his way back up my body, his hardness pressing against my stomach as he leaned forward to kiss me.

"God, I want you so bad." I murmured, reaching down to stroke him as he moaned.

"You have me, baby." He grinned, leaning his head on my shoulder as I pumped him.

Dean kissed me again before pulling back to lean back on his knees, a small smile on his face as he guided himself to my entrance. I moaned as he pushed inside me, moving slowly. I ran my arms over his shoulders as he rocked back and forth inside me. I felt the release bubbling up in my stomach, practically digging my nails into his arms. Dean knew neither one of us was going to last much longer, so he quickened his pace, the pleasure getting stronger and stronger.

Not even a few moments later, I felt the rubber band snap inside of me, pulling Dean down to kiss me as we came together. I breathed heavily as Dean rested his head in the crook of my neck, panting. Dean kissed my collarbone a few times, moving over to my side, propping himself up on his elbow next to me, tracing shapes on my bare stomach. I stared up at the ceiling, feeling all my emotions suddenly hit me like a tidal wave.

It was then that the carefully constructed damn broke, and tears started spilling down my cheeks.

Two days.

Two days was all we had left.

Forty-eight hours until I would never hear his voice again, never feel his touch again. I'll never be able to look into his eyes and feel that comfort that only he could bring.

People say soul mates exist, and I never really believed them.

Not until Dean. Not until now when I could feel a part of my soul leaving me as the seconds ticked by.

"Tori?" Dean asked worriedly as I covered my face with my hands, trying to hide my sobs. "Tor? What's wrong? Baby-"

"I'm sorry." I cried. He didn't need to see this. I was supposed to stay strong.

"Don't say that. You don't have to apologize."

"I didn't want to cry."

"It- it's okay." He murmured, pulling me to him, kissing the top of my head as I cuddled into his chest.

"I love you..." I whispered, feeling the need to be quiet so I could count the beats of his heart, knowing I wouldn't hear it anymore. "So much."

"Me too. I lo-"

"Don't say it."

"What?"

"Please don't say it." I mumbled. There was something about him actually saying the words. Like at that point, everything would be final.

"O- okay."

"I know you do."

Dean let out a sigh, gently tilting my head up towards him so he could look into my eyes. He stroked my cheek with his thumb, shooting me a small, sad smile as he wiped the tears away. "It's gonna be okay, Cherry Pie."

"Dean-"

"It is-"

"No it- just, please."

"...I'm sorry."

"What?" I asked, peering up at him in confusion. "What are you sorry for?"

"I'm just- I'm sorry for- I'm sorry for leaving you."

"No, Dean. No-"

"But I am. I just wish we had more time." Dean muttered sadly, looking deeply into my eyes.

"Me too." I nodded, feeling the tears flow again.

"Just- just don't forget me, okay?"

"What?" I asked, looking up at him with confused eyes.

"Even if you find someone else...just don't forget about me." Dean mumbled, tears springing to his eyes.

"You listen to me right now Dean Winchester." I said, my voice hard as I gently grabbed his chin, forcing him to look into my eyes. "I love you. There is no one else in this world that I could love like I love you. Nothing could come close. There's no one that could make me feel like you do. No one. I could never replace you. I'd never even try. And I certainly could never forget you. Never."

Dean nodded as I pulled him to me, pressing a deep, loving kiss against his lips. I didn't want him to ever have an doubt of how much I loved him. How much he meant to me. It broke my heart that it even crossed his mind.

As much as it hurt to think about, this could be our last night together. So I made sure to prove to him how much I loved him, over and over again until the sun came up...until we ran out of time.

* * *

 **This could have very easily been put in No Rest for the Wicked, but this song was just too perfect to not have it's own little chapter.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	17. No Rest for the Wicked

_The days may change  
With the length of your hair, the clothes that you wear  
But you're still some kid  
And you're farther from home than ever before  
You grow tired  
In your search for salvation, a hunt for you place in this world  
You know  
It burns you, it molds you and it tears you apart  
_… _.._

 _The hours defy me_  
 _The weeks are drawn on as they fit to a song_  
 _And the frustration_  
 _The cause within sight, my teeth chip as I bite_

 _It's out, out, out with the old  
And it's in with the new  
We want back, back, back to the old  
Just a lonely few  
_… _._

 _What have I become?  
Just another one, away from home  
Something takes my hand, but my feet won't walk along  
New hopes tower us  
And our eyes were doors  
But they walked right through  
Now it's haunting us in the only home we've known_

 _Bring the rain to my front door  
Bring your thundering sky  
Tame the fires that burn the walls  
Of a life that waves goodbye  
And bring the rain to my front door  
Bring your thundering sky  
Tame the fires that burn the walls  
Of a life that waves goodbye_

 _ **Finish Ticket – Bring The Rain**_

* * *

The book that sat in front of me was chilling. The hellhound drawn there was terrifying. There was no other word. It scared me to my very core. I don't know why Dean was even looking at this thing.

I didn't want to see those bastards and I could only hope that phase had passed...because if I saw them…

I just didn't know what I'd do.

Dean had fallen asleep beside me, looking peaceful. I know he didn't feel like sleeping, wanting to spend as much time awake as possible, but I just didn't have the heart to wake him. Just then, Sam came inside, practically slamming the door behind him.

"Sh!" I hissed quietly, nodding over to Dean.

"Sorry." Sam whispered, looking over at his brother with sad eyes before glancing over to me. "How uh- how was your night?"

"What?" I asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You know, you and Dean..."

"Are you asking if we had sex?"

"No!" Sam exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "I'm just asking if you're okay, I guess."

"No." I muttered honestly.

"Right." Sam nodded, looking at the book in front of me. "Find anything?"

"No."

"Well, Bobby has. Finally."

"Oh, yeah?" I asked, shutting the book so I didn't have to look at the picture anymore. Suddenly, Dean woke up, breathing heavily as he looked around with wide, panicked eyes. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. N- nothing." Dean mumbled, pushing himself up to lean against the headboard, realizing his brother was in the room. "Hey."

"Hey." Sam muttered sadly. "So Bobby found a way to find Lilith."

"With just thirty hours to go."

"Look, we're cutting it close, I know. But we're gonna get this done. I don't care what it takes, Dean. You're not gonna go to hell. I'm not gonna let you." Sam said, glancing over to me before looking to Dean. " _We're_ not gonna let you. I swear. Everything's gonna be okay."

Dean stared over at him, his expression changing to one of complete fear. He shut his eyes tightly, peaking through one of them at Sam before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, okay."

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Dean nodded, looking down to the comforter beneath him. The sound of a car pulling up echoed outside and Sam made his way back out to greet who I assumed was Bobby.

"Dean, what happened?" I asked, turning towards him.

"Nothing."

"You didn't have a bad dream?"

"No."

"You're lying. Please don't lie to me."

"There was a hellhound." Dean muttered, glancing up at me.

"A hellhound?"

"Chasing me."

"Shit." I huffed, running a hand through my hair. I grabbed the book in front of me, shoving it underneath the bed. "I told you not to look at that thing."

"Yeah."

Sam and Bobby came back in with a large map and an old tracking device with three wooden legs coming out from a crystal ball at the top with a metal piece wrapped around it, symbols engraved there and a pendulum hanging beneath it.

"Hey kids." Bobby called. "How's it going?"

"Just great." Dean scoffed sarcastically as he got up. "Other than the fact that, you know, I'm going to hell in thirty hours."

Bobby shot him a hard look, placing the map down on the table, putting the tracker on top of it. "So you need a name, that's the whole kit and caboodle. With the right name, right ritual, ain't nothing you can't suss out."

"Like the town Lilith's in?" Sam asked, standing near Bobby as I sat beside Dean on the edge of one of the beds.

"When I get done, we'll know the street." Bobby said, swinging the pendulum as he started chanting in Latin. He glanced up at me warily, an apologetic look in his eyes. "New Harmony, Indiana."

"What?" I asked, my eyes going wide. All the times we had to go to Indiana, I was grateful New Harmony wasn't one of the places we ended up in. Of course that would be it now, right?

"You're kidding, right?" Dean asked.

"It doesn't matter. We're going."

"Tori-"

"Dean, we have to. I don't care. This isn't about what happened to me years ago, this is about you. _Saving you_."

"Alright, then." Sam nodded, getting up. "Let's go."

"Whoa, hold on." Dean called, pulled me back down beside him as I started to stand. "Everybody wait a second."

"What's the problem?"

" _What's the problem_? Come on, where do I begin?" Dean asked. "First of all, we don't even know if Lilith holds my deal. We're going off of Bela's intel. Now when that bitch breathes, the air comes out crooked. Second, even if we could get to Lilith, we have no way to gank her. And third, isn't this the same Lilith that wants your giant head on a pike? Should I continue?"

"Ain't you just bringing down the room." Bobby grumbled.

"Yeah, well, it's a gift."

"I'm sorry, so then what are we supposed to do, Dean?" Sam asked.

"Just 'cause I gotta die doesn't mean you have to, okay? Either we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

"Okay, fine. If that's the case, I have the answer."

"You do?"

"Yeah. A sure-fire way to confirm it's Lilith and a way to get us a bona fide demon-killing ginsu."

"Damn it, Sam, no." Dean said adamantly, shaking his head.

"We're so past arguing." Sam huffed. "I am summoning Ruby."

"The hell you are! We have enough problems as it is."

"Exactly. And we've got no time and no choice either."

"Come on man, she is the Miss Universe of lying skanks, okay? She told you that she could save me – lie. She seems to know everything about Lilith but forgot to mention, oh right – Lilith owns my soul!"

"Okay, fine. She's a liar." Sam shrugged. "She's still got that knife."

"Dean." Bobby called.

"For all we know, she works for Lilith." Dean argued.

"Then give me another option, Dean." Sam shrugged. "I mean, tell me what else."

"Sam's right." Bobby said.

"No!" Dean exclaimed suddenly. Bobby looked at Dean in surprise from his outburst, staring over at him with wide eyes.

"But Dean-" I started.

"Just no. We are not gonna make the same mistakes all over again." Dean said, glancing over at me. "You guys wanna save me, find something else."

"But-"

"No." Dean repeated as Bobby let out a sigh, grabbing his jacket, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I guess to find something else." Bobby huffed, throwing out his arms.

* * *

Time seemed to be moving all too fast as hours passed, flying by us. I could feeling my sanity starting to slip away as I anticipated what was to come, a nauseous feeling filling my stomach at the very thought.

"Do you hear that?" Dean asked, looking over at me.

"What?" I asked, blinking a few times, not hearing what he'd said.

"Do you hear that? In the basement?"

"No."

"Sam's down there." Dean said, heading over to the basement door.

I got up, following him as he opened it, the sound of Ruby's voice echoing through. "Why do you think Lilith is so scared of you?"

"I fucking knew it."

"Right...she's scared of me." Sam scoffed.

"If you wanted, you could wipe her off the map without moving a muscle." Ruby said.

"I don't believe you."

"It's the truth."

"And you decided to tell me this just now?"

"Um... demon." She said obviously. "Manipulative's kinda in the job description. Fact is, is that you would have never considered it. Not until you were-"

"Desperate enough?"

"You don't like being different. You hate the way Dean looks at you sometimes. Like you're some kind of sideshow freak. But suck it up because we've got a lot of ground to cover, and we've gotta do it fast. But we can do it." She said. "Look. Call me a bitch, hate me all you want, but I have never lied to you, Sam. Not ever. And I'm telling you. You... can save your brother, and I can show you how."

"So that's you, huh? Our slutty little Yoda." Dean said, stepping behind her.

"Dean. Charming as ever." Ruby mumbled, turning to face us, looking at me. "How exactly do you deal with him?"

"I knew you'd show up. Because I knew Sam wouldn't listen." Dean said as I ignored her. "But you're not gonna teach him anything, you understand me? Over my dead body."

"Oh. Well, you're right about that."

"What you are gonna do is give me that knife. And then you can just go crawl back into whatever slop you came from and never bother us again." Dean said, stepping towards her. "Are we clear?"

"Your brother is carrying a bomb inside of him and we'd be stupid not to use it."

"Look, just hold on for one-"

"Sam, stop." I said, interrupting him. "Everything she says is a lie. It's all a trick."

"That's not true." Ruby muttered.

"She wants you to give into this whole demonic psychic whatever, okay? I mean hell, she probably wants you to become her little anti-christ Super Star." Dean said.

"I want Lilith dead. That's all."

"Why?"

"I've told you why!"

"Oh, right, yeah. Because you were human once and you liked kittens and long walks on the beach."

"You know, I am so sick of proving myself to you. You wanna save yourself? This is how. You dumb, spineless dick." Ruby spat.

I was just about to curse her out when Dean swung around, punching her in the face. My eyes widened as Ruby stumbled backwards a little, wiping blood from the fresh cut in her lip. She stepped forward, punching Dean with her right fist, then her left.

"Ruby, stop!" Sam shouted, moving towards her. She quickly hit him in the back, kneeing him in the face as he doubled over, sending him flying back to a beam, sliding down to the floor.

As she turned back around, I punched her hard in the face, watching blood trickle from her nose as she glared at me, throwing a punch that I quickly ducked, kicking her in the stomach, sending her stumbling backwards where she slammed against the wall. She glared at me, stalking towards me again when she froze, hitting an invisible wall.

"Like I said, we knew you'd come." Dean told her, nodding to the devil's trap on the ceiling.

"You bastard." Ruby spat.

Dean shrugged, moving over towards the steps. "Let's go."

"Wait...you're just gonna leave me here?" She asked as Sam got up from the ground, walking over to Dean at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, oh you- so you're just too stupid to live, is that it? Then fine! You deserve hell! I wish I could be there, Dean. I wish I could smell the flesh sizzle off your bones! I wish I could be there to hear you scream!"

"You fucking bitch." I hissed, a wave of anger ran through me as I stepped in front of her, pushing her back against the wall with a hand to her throat, pulling out the knife.

"That won't do anything to me."

"Won't it?" I asked, slashing the knife across her arm. She cried out in pain, looking down to the knife with wide eyes, realizing it was her own. "Missing something?"

"You-" She charged at me, but I quickly moved back, standing just out of the devil's trap, staring at her with a smirk as she glared. "Fuck you."

"Right back at you." I said, turning and following Sam and Dean back up the steps.

"We're just gonna let her rot down there?" Sam asked after we came back to the main floor.

"That's the general idea, yeah." I said, placing the knife down on the table.

"What if- what if Ruby's right? What if I can take out Lilith?" Sam asked, gaining a glare from Dean and I. "Quit looking at me like that."

"What, are you gonna give her the _Carrie_ -stare and Lilith goes _poof_?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't know what Ruby meant. You know, maybe we should just go ask her."

"No."

"Dean, just listen to me for a second. Last time Lilith snapped her fingers and put thirty demons on our ass, and all we got is one little knife? I mean, like you said, we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

"Well, this ain't smart."

"We got one shot at this. Just one. So if there's a sure-fire way then maybe we should just talk about it."  
"Sam. We are not gonna make the same mistake all over again." Dean said, turning back to his brother.

"You said that, but what does it even mean?"

"Don't you see a pattern here? Dad's deal, Tori's deal, my deal. Now this? I mean every time one of us is- is up the creek the other is begging to sell their soul. That's all this is, man. Ruby's just jerking your chain down the road. You know what it's paved with and you know where it's going." Dean said, sitting down at the table, beginning to load a gun.

"What do you think is gonna happen? This is me, I can handle it." Sam said. "And if it'll save you…"

"Why even risk it?" Dean asked.

"Because you're my brother. Because you did the same thing for me."

"I know... and look how that turned out." Dean said, staring to get choked up as he looked at Sam and I. "All I'm saying is, we're each other's weak spot."

"You don't mean that." Sam muttered. "We're- we're family."

"I know. And those evil sons of bitches know it, too. I mean, what we'll do for each other? How far we'll go? They're using it against us."

"So what? We just stop looking out for each other?" I asked, tears in my eyes.

"No, we stop being martyrs. We stop spreading it for these demons." Dean said, holding up Ruby's knife. "We take this knife, and we go after Lilith _our_ way. The way Dad taught us to. And if we go down...then we go down swinging. What do you think?"

I nodded in agreement, not trusting my voice right now as Sam glanced down to the floor, looking back up at Dean. "I think you totally should have been jamming _Eye of the Tiger_ right there."

"Oh, bite me." Dean huffed, standing up. "I totally rehearsed that speech, too."

"So, New Harmony, Indiana, huh?"

"Yeah, where Lilith's on shore-leave."

"You ready for that?" Sam asked, glancing back to me.

"As I'll ever be." I shrugged.

"Tell me something. The hell's a demon do for fun?" Dean asked.

"I don't know, but I guess we're about to find out."

Once we got everything packed into the Impala, we got in, ready to go. Dean tried to start the car, but the engine wouldn't turn over. He tried again, but the same thing happened. Suddenly, Bobby appeared at the driver side window, starling us.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, holding up the Impala's distributor cap. The three of us got out of the car, walking over to Bobby, who didn't look too happy.

"We got the knife." Dean said.

"And you intend to use it without me. Do I look like a ditchable prom-date to you?"

"Uh...no….?" I muttered, looking up at Bobby with a grimace as he narrowed his eyes at me.

"This isn't your fight." Dean told him.

"The hell it isn't!" Bobby exclaimed. "Family don't end with blood, boy. Besides, you need me. You're playing wounded. Tell me, how many hallucinations have you had so far?"

Sam and I looked over at Dean in question as he looked away, not meeting our eyes. "How'd you know?"

"Because that's what happens when you've got hellhounds on your ass. And because I'm smart." Bobby said, handing Dean the distributor cap, walking over to his car as Dean went to the hood of the Impala, ready to put the part back. "I'll follow. Don't be stopping to pee every ten minutes either."

* * *

 **IMPALA – NIGHT**

Right now, the drive was pretty quiet, silence filling the car as the Impala sped down the dark road. I couldn't seem to get my mind off what was coming, but one thing I did know was that I'd do anything in my power to stop this. Anything.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam called. "You know if this doesn't- if this doesn't go the way we want, I want you to know-"

"No, no, no." Dean said, stopping Sam.

"No, what?"

"No, you're not gonna bust out the misty good-bye speech, okay? If this is my last day on earth, I do not want it to be socially awkward. You know what I do want?" Dean asked, reaching forward turn on the radio.

" _Bon Jovi_?" Sam asked incredulously as _Wanted Dead or Alive_ played through the car.

" _Bon Jovi_ rocks, on occasion." Dean said, shooting Sam a pointed look before nudging his shoulder as he started to sing. " _And I walk these streets. A loaded six-string on my back. I play for keeps. 'Cause I might not make it back. I've been everywhere-"_

" _Oh, yeah._ " Sam sang quietly, a small grin on his face.

" _Still I'm standing tall._ " Dean continued. I smiled over at the boys as they kept singing, my heart hurting as I felt tears spring to my eyes.

 _Dead or alive...dead or alive…_

The song rang through the car, sending an uncomfortable feeling through me as I glanced over to Dean, seeing that he had stopped singing and was staring straight ahead at the road. Suddenly, the sound of police sirens sounded around. I turned, seeing a cop car behind us, it's lights blaring.

"We getting pulled over?" Sam asked.

"I've got a busted tail-light. It's not like we're in a hurry or nothing." Dean mumbled, looking out of the rear-view mirror, rolling down the window as the officer walked over. "Problem officer?"

"License and registration, please." He muttered as my stomach churned. Dean handed him the papers. "Do you realize you have a tail-light out, Mr Hagard?"

"Yes. Yes sir. Uh...you know I've been meaning to…take care of that. As a matter of fact-" Dean paused, opening his door fast, letting it hit the cop in the stomach.

Sam and I rushed out of the car as Dean grabbed the man, punching him hard in the face. As soon as I got to him, Dean pulled out Ruby's blade, thrusting it into the man's jaw. A bright light flashed inside of him as he died, letting me know he was a demon.

"What the hell happened?" Bobby asked, rushing over.

"Dean just killed a demon." Sam explained. "How'd you know?"

"I just knew." Dean muttered. "I could see its face. Its real face under that one."

"So what, now you're seeing demons?"

"I've seen all kinds of things lately but...nothing like this."

"Actually it's not all that crazy." Bobby said.

"How's it not that crazy?" Dean asked incredulously.

"Well you've got just over five hours to go. You're piercing the veil, Dean. You're glimpsing the B-side."

"A little less new age-y please."

"You're almost hell's bitch. So, you can see hell's other bitches." Bobby said roughly.

Dean looked surprised before covering it up with annoyance. "Thank you."

"Well, actually it could come in pretty handy." Sam shrugged.

"Oh, well, I'm glad my doomed soul is good for something."

"Damn right it is." Bobby said. "Lilith's probably got demons stashed all over town. We can't let them sound the alarm. If she knows we're here, we're dead before we're started. So with you seeing demons and Tori sensing them...that makes things a little easier."

* * *

 **NEW HARMONY, INDIANA - NIGHT**  
 **ABANDONED HOUSE  
**

Once we'd covered up the cop's car in the trees, we headed back out on the road. As soon as we got to the neighborhood where Lilith was, I felt my stomach doing flips. I didn't know how many demons were here, but based on the intensity of what I was feeling, there were quite a few.

Currently, we were hiding out in the abandoned house across from the one Lilith was in. I lifted up the binoculars, seeing a little blonde girl smiling as a woman served her a huge piece of cake. After looking for a bit, I handed the binoculars over to Dean.

"It's the little girl. Her face is awful." He muttered, cringing as he looked away.

"Alright then, let's go. We're wasting time." Sam said, turning to leave.

"Wait." Dean called, grabbing him.

"For what? For it to kill the rest of them?"

"Yeah, and us too if we're not careful. Look." Dean said, pointing to the mailman. "See the real go-getter mailman on the clock at nine pm?"

"Demon?" Bobby asked.

"Yes."

"Okay. Fine." Sam said. "We- we ninja pass 'em, sneak in."

"Then what? Give a _Colombian necktie_ to a ten year old girl?" Dean asked, shaking his head. "Come on."

"Look, Dean, I know it's awful-"

"You think?"

"This isn't just about saving you, Dean. This is about saving everybody."

"We have to stop her." I said, gaining a surprised look from Dean. "I hate it just as much as you do. But it has to be done. That little girl could already be gone with that thing inside of her.

"Oh, damn it." Dean huffed.

We made our way back downstairs, moving over towards the front door, collecting ourselves before we went out there. Sam and I took our places near the inside of the fence while Dean went outside, gaining the mailman's attention. He charged at Dean, who ran back over towards the fence.

As he rounded the corner, I grabbed the demon's arms, placing a hand over his mouth as Sam pushed Ruby's knife into his stomach, letting him fall to the ground. We dragged the body out of sight, moving through the backyard of the house, keeping along the fence. Suddenly, I felt someone grab me, pushing me on the fence, pressing up against my back.

"I'd like my knife back, please. Or your neck snaps like a chicken bone." Ruby threatened.

Sam quietly walked up behind her, pressing the blade to her throat. "She doesn't have it. Take it easy."

Ruby backed away from me, allowing me to turn around. "How the hell did you get out?"

"What you don't know about me could fill a book." She said as Dean walked over to Sam, cringing when he looked at her.

"Whoa."

"What?"

"Nothing. I just- I couldn't see you before, but you're one ugly broad." Dean said, looking away from her face.

Ruby rolled her eyes, ignoring him. "Sam, give me the knife before you hurt yourself."

"You'll get it when this is over." Sam replied.

"It's already over. I gave you a way to save Dean, you shot me down. Now it's too late. He's dead. I'm not gonna let you die, too."

"Try and stop me, and I'll kill you. Bitch."

"Hit me with your best shot, baby."

"Hey, why don't you two have your little catfight later?" Dean muttered, pulling me to him as he looked across the way at a father and son standing on their porch and a man with a briefcase watching us. I looked in the other direction, seeing two more men staring at us with black eyes.

"Shit." I huffed.

"So much for the element of surprise."

"Go. Run!" Sam shouted, opening the gate as they suddenly charged at us.

When we reached the door of the house Lilith was in, Sam bent down in front of it, trying to hurry up and pick the lock as more demons ran towards the front lawn.

"What the hell is taking Bobby?" Dean asked, looking down at Sam. "Hurry!"

"I'm trying!" Sam snapped, his fingers fumbling with the lockpick.

The sound of sprinklers turning on caught my attention as one of the demons ran through the water, screaming when she came in contact with it. Without getting the warning, another demon ran through the water flailing to the ground.

"Holy water sprinklers." I muttered.

"That smart son of a bitch." Dean added with a smile as a few more demons lined up in front of the lawn on the street, none of them daring to walk through the water.

"Come on." Sam said, pushing the door open.

I was about to follow him and Ruby inside when I saw Dean still standing on the porch, grinning at the demons. I rolled my eyes, grabbing his arm, pulling him inside with us. I gasped as we walked into the dining room, seeing the body of a man lying dead at the table, his neck broken and head twisted around.

"You think Lilith knows we're here?" Dean asked.

"Probably." Ruby nodded as we walked into the empty living room. Dean turned at the creak of a cabinet door behind us, grabbing the man that stepped out, placing a hand over his mouth, shushing him.

"We're here to help. I'm gonna move my hand, and we're gonna talk nice and quiet, okay?" Dean whispered, waiting for the man to nod before slowly removing his hand.

"Sir, where is your daughter?" Sam asked.

"It's not- it's not her anymore."

"Where is she?"

"Upstairs. In her bedroom."

"Okay. Listen to me. I want you to go downstairs to the basement. Put a line of salt at the door behind you." Dean told him. "Do you understand me?

"Not without my wife." He argued.

"Yes, without your wife."

"No."

Dean didn't waste any time, punching him hard, knocking him out, throwing the unconscious man over his shoulder. I went into the kitchen, coming back with a container of salt, following Dean over to the basement door, opening it for him as we went downstairs and Sam and Ruby went upstairs. Once we put the man down in the basement I put a line of salt on the top step before shutting the door.

Dean and I made our way upstairs, walking until we found the little girl's room. The woman, who I assumed was her mother, was lying on the bed, cradling the little girl in her arms as she slept.

Sam stood over her, about to plunge the knife into her when Dean ran over, stopping him.

"It's not her!" Dean said as the little girl started breathing heavily, waking up to a man holding a knife in front of her. "It's not in the girl anymore."

"Mommy!" She sobbed, burying her face in her mother's chest.

"Mommy's here. Mommy's here. It's okay." The mother muttered, comforting her. We quickly got the mother and daughter up, leading them down to the basement.

"No matter what happens, your, your husband and your daughter stay in the basement, okay?" I asked, leading her to the door. "You'll be safe there."

"Well, I hate to say _I told you so_." Ruby mumbled. Dean followed the woman halfway down the steps, making sure she got down safely before returning and fixing the salt line.

"Alright Ruby, where is she?" Sam asked, pulling Ruby over to the living room, though I could still hear them.

"I don't know."

"Could she get past the sprinklers?"

"Her pay grade, she ain't sweating the holy water."

"Okay, you win. What do I have to do?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"To save Dean. What do you need me to do?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dean asked, turning Sam towards him.

"Just shut up for a second." Sam said, looking back to Ruby. "What do I do?"

"You had your chance." Ruby shrugged. "You can't just flip a switch. We needed time."

"Well, there's gotta be something. There's gotta be some way, whatever it is, I'll do it."

"Sam, no-"

"We have to do something, Dean!" I said, interrupting him.

"Not that."

"We're not gonna let you go to hell, Dean!" Sam exclaimed.

"Yes, you are!" Dean shouted, tears immediately forming in my eyes no matter how strong I tried to be. "Yes, you are. I'm sorry. I mean this is all my fault, I know that. But what you're doing, it's not gonna save me. It's only gonna kill you."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Sam asked, tears in his eyes.

"Keep fighting. Take care of my wheels. Remember what Dad taught you...okay?" Dean said, looking between Sam and I. "And remember what I taught you."

"Yeah." Sam nodded. I looked back to Dean, tears streaming down my cheeks as he pulled me over to him.

"Kind of stupid, but all this made me realize something." Dean muttered.

"What?" I asked, my hands holding onto his jacket.

"I should have married you."

"W- what?" I asked quietly, trying to ignore the mixture of sadness and shock on Sam's face as I nearly started sobbing.

"I was stupid." Dean said, looking down at me with tears in his eyes. "And if- if I ever get out...we should do it."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"I- Dean, what-" I stuttered, shaking my head. "Now you ask me?!"

"Hey, good a time as any, right?" Dean joked, forcing a smile on his face through the fear and nervousness. "So, uh, what do you say?"

"Yeah." I nodded, taking a deep breath as I looked up at him. "Of course."

Dean smiled down at me as the grandfather clock chimed, letting us know that midnight was here. I glanced over to it, looking back at him as he swallowed hard, trying to keep himself calm.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy." Ruby muttered. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a hellhoud howl in the distance, my heart dropping.

"Can you- can you still hear them?" Dean asked, obviously having heard the same thing I did.

"Yes."

"Does that- does that mean you'll see them?"

My eyes widened as I saw the faint outline of one standing a few feet behind Dean. It dragged a paw across the ground, digging it's nails deep into the wood. Dean turned around at the sound, staring at the hellhound for a few seconds before it started charging at us.

Everything that took place after that seemed to be moving in slow motion, though it all happened very quickly.

Just as we were about to get inside another room to block us off from the hellhound, I looked back, seeing it gaining a little more speed, reaching out it's huge paw for Dean. I pushed him out of the way, feeling the large claws dig into my hip as Dean yelled out for me, his eyes wide.

I was stunned for a moment, blinking a few times before Dean's hand grabbed my arm, tugging me harshly into the room as Sam shut the doors behind us, placing a line of goofer dust in front of it.

"Oh my god, Tori." Dean murmured, staring down at me. Breathing heavily, I looked down to my side, seeing a lot of blood soaking into my shirt. "Shit."

"I'm okay." I mumbled. "I'm okay."

"Why'd you do that?"

"It almost got you." I said, looking up to him with tears in my eyes as the pain finally set in.

"We have to get you patched up."

"There's no time for that. It doesn't matter." I told him. Dean sighed, cradling my face in his hands, pulling me towards him, kissing me deeply.

When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine, looking into my eyes. "I love you, Cherry Pie."

"I love you, too." I cried as the banging on the door got louder.

"Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off." Ruby said as the banging on the door stopped for a moment.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Come on! That dust won't last forever."

"Wait!" Dean called.

"You wanna die?' Ruby asked.

"That's not Ruby. It's not Ruby!"

Suddenly, with a flick of her hands, Ruby flung Sam and I up against opposite walls, pinning us there. Sam dropped the knife, sending it flying across the floor. Ruby pushed Dean on top of the table, holding him there.

"Lilith?" I asked, my eyes wide as fear passed through me.

"That's right." She replied, her voice suddenly childlike.

"How long have you been in her?" Dean asked.

"Not long. But I like it. It's all grown up and pretty."

"And where's Ruby?" Sam asked.

"She was a very bad girl, so I sent her far, far away."

"You know, I should have seen it before...but you all look alike to me." Dean strained against her grip. She ignored him, walking over in front of Sam.

"Hello, Sam. I've wanted to meet you for a very long time." She smiled, grabbing his chin, pulling him down to kiss her. "Your lips are soft."

"Right, so you have me. Let my brother go." Sam said.

"Silly goose. You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want. You don't."

"So, is this your big plan, huh? Drag me to hell. Kill Sam and Tori. And then what? Become queen bitch?" Dean snapped.

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow." Lilith mumbled, walking over to the door.

"Don't- don't you fucking dare!" I shouted.

"Or what?" Lilith scoffed, looking up at me. "You can't do anything to me."

"Tori...don't look." Dean mumbled.

"No." I cried.

Lilith opened the door wide, revealing the hellhound standing there, it's teeth barred. "Sic him, boy."

"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, tears flowing freely down my cheeks as I watched the hellhound charge into the room, grabbing Dean's leg with it's teeth, pulling him off the table as he yelled in pain. The hellhound continued to maul Dean, attacking his chest, ripping it to shreds with it's claws as he screamed in pain.

Sam looked down, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Stop!"

"Stop!" I screamed again, watching in horror, not able to look away. Suddenly, Dean stopped screaming, pulling in a weak breath as the blood poured out of his chest. "No!"

"Yes." Lilith smiled, holding her hands out towards Sam and I, a white light erupting from them. The light built up inside the room before suddenly retracting, causing her to look down in confusion and shock. "What?"

At that point, Sam and I were both free from her grasp, our feet back on the floor. I ran over to Dean, putting his head in my lap as he blinked slowly, pulling in a shaky breath.

"It's okay, baby. I'm here." I murmured, smoothing his hair back. "It's okay."

"Back." Lilith muttered, clearly afraid of Sam as he advanced towards her. "I said, back!"

"I don't think so." Sam said, grabbing Ruby's knife.

Just as Sam was about to stab her, she threw her head back, allowing the smoke to exit Ruby's body, going into the vents. I heard the thud of Ruby's body it the floor, but I didn't care, keeping in my eyes trained on Dean as he stared blankly, pulling in his last breath, the life drifting from his eyes right before mine.

The flood-gates broke and I sobbed harder than I ever have in my entire life, resting my head on his shoulder as I cried. Sam dropped to his knees next to me, his own tears running freely down his cheeks.

This was it. There was no coming back. No waking up to find that this was all just some fucked up nightmare.

Of all the tragedies in my life, this was the most crushing, the most devastating. It felt as though my heart was literally ripped out of my chest. The anger bubbled up inside of me as I cried, staring down into Dean's lifeless eyes.

I knew from this point on, I would never be the same again.

* * *

 **:'(**

 **I seriously can't believe that I'm done with s3. The name of s4 is going to be _Losing My Religion_ (for now, at least) who's ready for some Cas? **

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction **


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